Up-and-coming indy wrestler Shawn Sheridan chats with Nathan Stein in his LONGEST interview to date.
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STEIN: For anyone who never saw you, how would you describe yourself? How would I describe myself?
SSS: Let's see, I guess first off I can give you the old description you give to people on the internet who say they are attractive girls, I'm about 5' 11', I hover around the 170 lb. range, I have blue eyes, blond hair (that's in need of a re-dye at the moment), and I'm hot. Yeah, real hot. I mean, look at my picture. Not that I'm vain or anything, but that's just an attractive man over there. As far as describing myself wrestling-wise, I wouldn't classify myself into any one category, I'm not a flyer, at least not when you compare me to people who are considered flyers now on the indies. I'm not really a technical wrestler, either...but if you forced me to pick one style, I'd say I fit into a technical mold. I think I spend more time doing other things than wrestling when I'm in the ring. I think entertaining people is infinitely times more important than wrestling. I mean, I've seen kids go out there and do every move in the book and beat each other senseless and the crowd just sits on their hands, then again, I've seen people do next to nothing and the crowd goes nuts for it. So, in conclusion, I'd say I'm more of an economist than a wrestler. You've got to know your market.
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STEIN: What do you think the market, or fans, want in the NJ/PA area?
SSS: Well, it does kind of depend on where in the NJ/PA area you are when you talk about what the fans want. It seems some people just want to see straight-up old school wrestling, believe it or not, but those crowds are few and far between and are usually found out in the sticks. Just know if you're in the sticks, you should wrestle old school.
Aside from that, I think a lot of fans are like me, if you're from NJ/PA, you still have the longing for ECW to rise from the dead. People want to see those kinds of matches, they want to see people work like RVD and Jerry Lynn did in those matches that everyone loved. A lot of people may say that those matches kind of destroyed what wrestling was, and in a way they did, but the truth is not everyone has to work like that, if you have one or two matches on a show with a lot of athleticism, and the rest are worked as comedy matches, or really psychological, the fans will still love it. You have to remember that not every match in ECW was a spotfest. Corino made it to the top doing a comedy gimmick for about half of his tenure with the federation, same thing with the F.B.I., and even Simon Diamond and Swinger to some extent.
Fans know when you're putting crap in the ring, or trying to conduct crappy angles. They don't like that, especially the smart fans. So, they want good wrestlers. Give them good wrestlers. End of story.
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STEIN: What motivated you to get into pro wrestling? What motivates you to stay?
SSS: I guess I can give the generic answer here. I've always been a fan, on and off, my entire life. I forget how I was first introduced to wrestling, but as far back as I can remember I was always watching whatever wrestling I could on TV. There were times when I just lost interest in it, but I always found a different reason to come back to it, and each time I came back, I enjoyed it more and more. When I got to high school, I got my first real computer with a modem and everything, and I discovered that there was a great big, wide world of internet wrestling websites, chat rooms, and what-have-you. There were even fantasy wrestling federations based over e-mails. Now I thought that this was just the pinnacle of technology, and I got hooked on them in a pretty sick fashion. From this experience, I learned a lot of stuff I never knew about wrestling, because as far as I'm concerned, these are run pretty much like any other promotion, it's just that everything is on paper and not in 3-D. I'm not going to go into my illustrious e-wrestling career, but I'll say I had a lot of fun and am still in contact with a lot of those fellows and fellowettes today. So, I now that I had my computer, and like any other kid that was "smart" growing up in the USA Northeast, I was totally into ECW. I went to as many shows as time and money would allow, bought the shirts, traded for the tapes, etc. It was at this time that I went to college and started thinking to myself, "I've got to do this stuff." At college, my tape collection had gotten enormous, I idolized people like Hayabusa and Kenta Kobashi, and I had even started up a wrestling parody show on my college's TV channel. After a few months of that, I hadn't had enough, so I decided it was time to find a school. What makes me stick with the business is probably that feeling you get when you know you're entertaining people. I've gotten a lot of positive comments from fans and fellow workers that I always remember if I ever have a bad momen t. Sometimes, a kid will come up to you and ask for an autograph, or want your merchandise, and it's at the point you know that people like you so much they're willing to invest their time and money in you. That's huge. There's more than just that, too, but that's the main reason, it sounds cheesy, sure, but the fans are the reason I stay.
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STEIN: Do you think people like Hayabusa and Kenta Kobashi influenced your wrestling style?
SSS: Aren't there enough people emulating Hayabusa on the indies? Besides that, I think Da Hit Squad have Kenta Kobashi's offense cornered. But seriously, I never set out to try and copy either of those guys. I just wanted to have the kind of matches they had...the long, hard-fought matches.
I don't think it's necessary for me to fly like Hayabusa or do Kobashi's power moves. I've created my own style unique to me and I think it works. It doesn't mean I'm not a big fan of either of those guys, they rule, and I hope Hayabusa returns to the ring soon.
If one person did influence how I work in the ring, it would probably be Steve Corino. I've been told that there are a lot of similarities between the way I am now and the way he was early in his ECW career and prior to that. We're both cruiserweights [though he's bulked up since] who don't necessarily stress high-flying moves over our mike work and the non-wrestling things we do in our matches. I really am a big fan of his, anyway, I think he's probably one of the top 5 most entertaining guys to watch in this business.
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STEIN: How did you actually get into wrestling (i.e. your start, where you were trained)? What would you say to someone looking into training now?
SSS: Like I said above, I decided to look for a school. It took me such a long time to find one that was close enough to where I was located (Note: I started training just before wrestling schools were about as plentiful as gas stations in New Jersey), one I could afford, and one that just "felt right." I actually traveled all around New Jersey and New York, but schools were either shady or not open on days when they were advertised. It really sucked, to put it in a nutshell. It took the better part of a year before I accidentally discovered there was a wrestling school about 15 minutes from my college. So, I went to the ECPW School in Lake Hiawatha, NJ around the summer of 1999 and trained under Gino Caruso and The Kodiak Bear. Now, at the time, it wasn't recognized as a great school, and it's still not recognized as a top school. It's not perfect, and believe, no school I've been to is, but a good portion of the indy talent that's come out of New Jersey in the last few years has come from Gino's school. Anyway, I trained there for a few weeks when Gino told me they desperately needed a referee for their road shows and the monthly shows they had at the schools, so I volunteered for that, and for the next six months or so while I trained, I went all over the Northeast just doing the ref thing (not that I was a spectacular ref or anything), gaining a lot of experience just from being in the ring with anyone from guys who really blew to about 75% of the guys in the Legends of Wrestling game who aren't dead. Then in around January of 2000, I started wrestling full-time. That's that. If someone wanted to get into this business, the most important thing is to do your homework as far as choosing a school. Go to a school and sit in. It pays to actually know something about working a wrestling match before you go to a school. If you go into a school, and the kids in the ring are just doing a bunch of nonsensical spots with no psychology, and no one is bothering to correct them, bail. Find a different school. If you go into a school, and the guy who's supposed to be the trainer is off doing something else while the experienced workers just beat the crap out of the new kids, bail. Find a different school. Like I said above, my school wasn't Shangri-La, but I feel I was taught the right way. Another thing I would tell someone looking to get into the business is that when you find this new school, go as often as you can,you have to show everyone that you are dedicated and have a respect for the business, and they will respect you.
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STEIN: When you say parody [in regards to your college television show], how so?
SSS: It's a little difficult to explain, I guess, in some respects, people would just say it was some sort of goofy backyard federation, but, in reality, it was seriously just a sit-com type thing where we simulated a wrestling show, like RAW or Nitro (at the time). We spoofed all of the ridiculous angles. We had a wrestler based on a man who had been going around campus exposing himself and chasing females back to their dorms. He was called The Mad Whacker by the kids on campus, so we made him into a Hulk Hogan clone, promos, offense and all. Our commissioner was a rubber octopus.
We had a character that was paraplegic. We had a tag team that worshipped the Teletubbies, it was nonsense. It was clearly fake. That is what makes it a show, and not a bunch of kids killing each other, there was no barbed wire, blading, kids falling two stories off a shed roof through thumbtacks, no, we weren't a backyard fed. I think the website is still up somewhere, it was called DCW, Drew Championship Wrestling, search for it if you want a laugh.
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STEIN: What was your favorite match to ref?
SSS: None really stick out in my memory, though I did get to referee an excellent match between Christian York and Joey Matthews right before ECW picked them up. I guess I always enjoyed being in the middle of a well-worked match-up.
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STEIN: In WXW, you recently picked up a new manager. Why is that?
SSS: Well, it's nothing new for me in WXW. Actually, I had had Frankie Fuji as my manager for most of my matches in WXW since I debuted there in December of 2000. He was just going under the name of Azrael, or something of similar spelling. I don't know how that came about. He was just assigned to me and Tiger Mulligan, better known as WXW Enhancement Team 2K. So, for the next year plus, he managed me in about 90% of my matches in Hazleton, which I summarily lost all of them except two, which were draws. I must say I really ruled for that first year. Then for a few matches, I didn't have a manager. That was during the time when Azrael was deciding he wanted to come out dressed in a tux and carry a cane. So, after a few more matches where I came up just short, "Frankie Fuji" walks out. He told me I sucked pretty badly and offered his services as a manager. He hadn't helped me before, but who really cared, you know? I had nothing to lose. It turned out to be a good move, you see, Frankie also manages the WXW Women's Champion Belladawna, who I guess is our answer to Nicole Bass. Sure she's shorter and less muscular, a lot, but she's just as mean, and she's become pretty protective of me since the whole merger. Hence, my new found win streak. Hooray for me.
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STEIN: Anything you would change in WXW?
SSS: Hmmm, that's a tough one. I'll say no comment. I feel really uncomfortable saying anything negative about WXW. They don't take too kindly to that. If I were to come on the internet and say "WXW needs to do this" or "WXW needs less of this," I guarantee someone would print it out and run it up to Afa and get me publicly executed at some major Hazleton landmark.
Maybe someday there will come a time for someone to say something, but as of right now it isn't that time, at least for me.
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STEIN: Why did 'WXW Enhancement Team 2K' break up?
SSS: Well, we were never really a "team" in the first place. We did team a few times in WXW, but we never were advertised as ET2K. It was definitely more of a backstage joke, kind of like the J.O.B. Squad in WWF. It referred to all of the Jersey talent brought into WXW shows, since we were all enhancement for the most part. We also made SLG an honorary member because he went about a year without winning more than a handful of matches. I'm happy to be the first Jersey member of EH2K to break the mold, though. Yippie for me.
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STEIN: From reading posts on various sites, it seems you're a big practical joker. What do you think attributes to that? Ever done a joke that went too far?
SSS: Wow, you've done your homework. I didn't even know posts like that existed. Yes, I play jokes on other workers. It's just kind of what I was taught when I came through the ECPW School. The guys who had been there for a while were always playing jokes on the younger guys. I never really caught any of it, except for the time I was locked in a trunk and driven around Parsippany, New Jersey for the better part of an evening, while the driver made high speed turns and short stops so I would ricochet off the sides of my enclosed space. I survived that, and have been trying to pay it forward ever since. Of course jokes go too far. This is a business full of egomaniacal hotheads, and a lot of them just can't take a joke. For instance, there was a time in Supreme Lee Great's career when he thought he was George Patton or something (he seems to be over it now). He would carry himself all big and bark out orders and say demeaning things to people. He still does to some degree, but it's far more forgivable for someone who can't separate their real life from their wrestling persona (ha ha ha, so true). Anyway, I'm done bashing him for now. So, he was doing the usual, "I'm important" thing, and asked me to fill a pitcher of water for him. Now, it was a combination of me wanting to teach him a lesson and the fact that the damn pitcher wouldn't fit in the sink in the men's room of the Days Inn Conference Center in Allentown that made me think it would be a small victory for mankind if I filled it from the toilet. SLG has Ryan Wing to thank that day, as Ryan made me flush the toilet three times before I drew any water from it. However, I still felt great as SLG used said water to wet his hair for that badass look he goes for. When the joke was finally spilled to him, he screamed something about the threat of hepatitis and wouldn't speak to me for a week. At least he took the joke, though. Plenty of guys would punch you in the face for looking at them wrong, let alone getting over on them, but I do manage to have my fun, and know of even greater jokes that I wish I could have been a part of. It truly is a great cornerstone of our business that we give each other hell. God bless professional wrestling.
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STEIN: Did SLG ever try to "return the favor" with the joke?
SSS: No, he pretty much just sulked. Though, on numerous occasions, SLG has driven straws into my face in the middle of crowded restaurants, a trick he learned from Mike Combs down in Tennessee.
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STEIN: What, if in one fell-swope, there was one thing you could change about the independents in NJ/PA; what would that one thing be?
SSS: Well, in New Jersey, I would say we should institute a commission, but seeing the PA scene, I know commissions are a pain in the ass. Sure, New Jersey indy wrestling looks good on paper, anyone can be a promoter, and anyone can wrestle provided things don't venture into the land of "extreme wrestling," but in reality it sucks. That talent pool, if you can call it that, is oversaturated by backyarders who just go to wrestling schools, say they were trained elsewhere, and use the rings of the fifteen dozen wrestling schools in NJ to further find ways to wrestle like crap and hurt one another.
How do we fix that? I don't know, if people who ran wrestling schools cared more about preserving the integrity of the business rather than lining their own pockets with money from 16-year old kids, maybe more wrestling shows in New Jersey would be worth attending. I mean, you get booked for a show, you show up, you go into the locker room, look around, and it's like, "Oh, God, what hell is HE doing here? Who's this kid? You're not a valet, you're so-and-so's girlfriend (this week)!" I get way too many of those thoughts scampering about my brain in a lot of locker rooms.
PA isn't as bad, but there are still a number of "talent casualties" in the locker rooms. If I could change one thing, I would wish that I had a magic wand to wave around wrestling locker rooms that would banish all the crappy workers to Abu Dhabi. That's what I would do if it was possible.
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STEIN: Any particular promotions out there you think could maybe pull together a deal like ECW [either in regards to television exposure or recognition]?
SSS: A fed with a real talent base and decent TV exposure would have to NWA - Wildside, their TV production could be better, but I'd have to say their product is awesome. They have probably one of the best rosters talent-wise that I've seen in a long time. People like A. J. Styles, Jason Cross, Adam Jacobs, Jimmy Rave, Caprice Coleman, that list goes on and on, all of these guys can work, the announcers can actually announce, if somebody sank decent money into that fed, they could easily be the next ECW.
I always wondered if ECWA could take the next step, and that's not a matter of talent or even money, I would say. I just don't think Jim Kettner has any desire to do anything else besides promote his shows in Delaware and not expand. He just really seems to love doing that. Again, if there was motivation, and somebody sank enough money into ECWA, they could even be an ECW. Jim just has a great eye for talent, not that he grows a lot of his own, but he knows how to bring in guys from other areas and groom them to be the top indy talent in the nation.
Aside from those two, no other feds really jump out at me, a lot of other feds could easily make it to that level, but like I've been saying, politics, at least in this area, have killed promoter-wrestler relations, no fed can ever have a stable roster of actual talent and run constant shows if people don't wizen up to what the fans want, and they don't want poorly booked crap.
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STEIN: If you could change something about your wrestling style, what would it be?
SSS: I think my wrestling style is fine the way it is. Sure, I'd like to be bigger, and hopefully, that will come in time. However, I wouldn't want to change the moves I perform. Sure, I could go out there and dive out of the ring and do shooting star presses, but have you noticed that everyone my size does that lately? So, I make up for that with my mike work and the little things I do that the other people just don't/can't/won't do.
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STEIN: What do you think of the NJ/PA area independent wrestling scene?
SSS: My, my, I don't think I could say everything I feel about the indies in this area. It would take pages and pages, this interview is already long without me going off, but I'll go off a little bit for the fine people out there.
I honestly think every promotion in NJ and PA mean well, but so many of them suck for so many reasons. I would probably die of shock if a promotion actually stuck to its guns and only used decent talent. It seems like every promotion uses someone because they sell tickets, or are the son of the cousin of a friend of a college roommate, or because they shine the shoes of a headlining worker on a show. If that's what gets you on a show, not the merit of your work, then you shouldn't be on the show. Period. I mean you go to a show, and let's be optimistic, let's say the majority of the matches are decent, you know there's going to be at least that one match with a guy (or guys [or gals]) who don't belong. A guy who should have hung it up a looong time ago, or two lanky kids in jeans and sneakers doing every single move from Wrestlemania 2000 in alphabetical order, or some other crapfest that just puts a black mark on the integrity of the show.
It's the politics of wrestling that ruin the business. "Hey, you're renting a ring from me? You have to use me and my ten friends on your show. By the way, did I mention we have no place in a wrestling ring? OK, you're desperate and you'll use us? Great!" I guarantee that conversation happens in your area more than once a weekend. I don't think promoters should be extorted by people who rent rings or sell tickets to use them. There are other methods that can be worked out without compromising your show. Fans come to see good wrestling, give them good wrestling. If you're a decent promoter who knows anything about the wrestling business, you know what draws and what doesn't. You know what's entertaining and what isn't. You know what gets the real workers to respect you and what doesn't. So, for Pete's sake, do it already.
New Jersey used to be a hotbed for indy wrestling. Now, you can't walk two feet without seeing a wrestling school or a poster for an indy show chock full of guys I've never heard of. How can I live five minutes from the territory this promoter is running his shows, and not know any of the workers? Does that make any sense to you? It doesn't to me. "Who trained these guys? Can I see some footage of your work?" Do promoters ask these questions anymore?
OK, I'm getting out of control, let's just stop here before I hurt myself. That's how I feel. The scene needs a lot of help. Occasionally, a fed comes along that follows these guidelines, and maybe some day another will follow them, too.
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STEIN: Where are some of the places you really like to wrestle for? Who do you think you've had some of your best matches against?
SSS: The two feds I just mentioned, I'd love to work for them. I'd like to go to Japan someday - don't know where I'd like to wrestle out there, though. Maybe I'd even like to go to Europe, see what the scene is like out there. Aside from all of those, I'd like to work pretty much anywhere where I can have good matches and not put up with any of the crap I hate about indy wrestling.
As far as who I've had my best matches against, let's see. A lot of people say that in August of 2000, myself and the artist now known as Wenzel put on the greatest match ever seen in the ECPW School. I agree. Other than my matches with him, I'd say I've had great matches against Tommy Suede, Ryan Wing, Tiger Mulligan, Supreme Lee Great, and Dave Delicious, in no particular order.
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STEIN: What do you think of wrestling today? What would you change?
SSS: I still miss ECW. We need an alternative no matter what the cost. Sure, we've got a lot of chatter about a lot of indy promotions that could "take that next step," but I'll believe it when I see it. I would be the happiest guy in the world if an indy could get to the level where we have an alternate TV product with talent that's allowed to work the kind of matches ECW let its workers work. And we need fewer interviews, well, not less interviews, but less time devoted to them. Whatever happened to the quick promo they used to get the matches over? That's all they needed. No need for a dramatic 15 minute reading of Beowulf or anything. One last thing. We need to stop corrupting talent on the top level, if you're going to recruit workers from the indies, you recruited them for a reason. Let them shine for those reasons, don't repackage them, strip them of their offense and charisma, and toss them down in a minor league and expect to them to get over, that's a whole new worker you created. Don't scratch your head when it bombs. 9) Anyone in wrestling you would like to see interviewed? What question would you like to ask them? I'd like someone to ask the entire SAT why they come to indy shows and don't shake anybody's hands and then sit in the corner like they're the only ones in the room. I'd like to see if they think that's the proper blueprint to gain respect from your fellow workers, especially those who have been around a lot longer than they have. There, someone said it and it's printed. 10) Anything additional you would like to add? My website is up at http://www.shawnsheridan.com. It needs an update as of right now, but that'll be happening in the next few days, so my bookings and stuff will be updated shortly, so you all will know when to see me. Thanks to all the fans that support me, and thanks for interviewing me for your site. I want to give a shout-out to Lamby and his boyfriend Rex, as well as all my other friends out there in the world.