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The Corino Chronicles XI: Japan/Puerto Rico/New Shirts

THE CORINO CHRONICLES XI: Japan/Puerto Rico/New Shirts!

10:49am, November 13 (Seat 5H on US Airways to San Juan)

Its time once again to travel down to Puerto Rico for a five week tour, with a week in Japan thrown in there too, and I am sitting here listening to Family Guy on DVD while throwing down some thoughts.  It’s actually the first time in a few weeks that I got the time to write.  Part of me has been too lazy to write and the only part of me has been busy with the latest Japan tour (which I will get into extensively in a bit), Puerto Rico television, and getting to be home for a little over a week.

Before I get started, how about them Phillies???  I love it.  The first time in 28 years my team has won the World Series.  I was sitting in an Internet Café in Tokyo talking with my sister and my son on line watching the game live.  It was one of those moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.  I was seven years old in 1980 when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Greg The Bull Luzinski, Larry Bowa, and Steve Carlton won the series.  Hopefully it will not be another 28 years for another world championship.

The latest Japan tour was an interesting one to say the least.  It started out with the Pro Wres Expo events that were produced by Freebird International (FBI Japan) at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.  Unfortunately, these shows were doomed from the start.  The economy is getting worse and worse and pro-wrestling in Japan has been on a decline since 2004.  Its not that pro-wrestling is bad or the fans are turned off, there are just way too many companies and it thins out the attendance.

The Expo shows were an idea to bring peace to the world through pro-wrestling. I am not lying. That is what the producers wanted to accomplish and as hokey as it sounds it was a nice thought.  The guy that put the money up for these shows is a life long pro-wrestling fan and a real nice person.  It’s a shame that these shows were going to be a bust.  His thought is that he would bring in young talent from many different countries.  A major problem is that Sumo Hall holds almost 10,000 people.  Korakean Hall or Differ Arake would have been a much better choice.  FBI brought in New Japan legend Masa Chono as the head booker and also our company, First On Stage to help book agent the talent.  The talent was pretty much picked by Mr. Ono, even though the Internet blamed it on both FOS and Chono-san.  That was not the case.

I was thrilled that I could book Ricky Landell, Ricky Reyes, Alex Anthony, and referee Mike Kehner from 3KWrestling.  Landell was chosen by Mr. Ono after he saw him wrestle Kirby Mack at the Cauliflower Alley Club in June.  Reyes became “Cuban Assassin #3” representing Cuba and Alex Anthony became “Alex Marley” representing Jamaica.  Expo also brought Bambi Killer from Austria (who was in the best shape I ever saw him), Erik Isiken from Norway, Hartley Jackson from Australia, Paul Tracey from Ireland, Durango and Naruto from Mexico, some hump named Geronimo from wherever the piss he claimed to be from (more on this shithead later), a French guy named Henni who apparently has only been training for two months, and the worst of the worst Himalayan Tiger from Nepal.

Chono and First On Stage picked me to be the agent of the matches and to give instructions and finishes.  I never thought that actually taking bumps and getting hurt would be easier then dealing with some of these people.  I say some but really it was only four I had to shake my head at.  And you have to keep in consideration that the French kid only has two months of training.  But that is LA Dojo’s fault for bringing him over.  It’s a shame because of how green the French guy was, Paul Tracey didn’t get a chance to show what he could do.  Will that hurt him for future consideration for Japan tours? I hope not, but wouldn’t be surprised if it does.

The Himalayan Tiger was just awful.  Maybe it’s because he doesn’t get to wrestle much but even giving him instructions was like trying to give instructions to a four year old with ADD.  He was the laughing stock of the shows and I felt bad for him the first few days until I saw that he was only out for himself and not the show.  Here is Chono, who has drawn more money then all of us combined, telling us to give it our best even though the house would be really small.  But this guy just worried about himself and made a total ass of himself in the ring.  Let’s hope these shows are not out on DVD.

Unfortunately one of the guys that were a bust was one of my 3KWrestlng guys.  I will not mention his name but it’s just a shame what happened.  It goes to show how far attitude can take you and how once you believe you are better then everyone it can blow up in your face.  I helped this guy for years and at the end of the tour not only did he make me look bad but the ZERO1 office made me cancel him off the January tour where he was scheduled to wrestle in a major program.  It’s been almost three weeks and I am still pissed off and heartbroken.  Just a awful effort from a guy that I thought was better then that.  Over the last seven years I have tried to help a bunch of guys and most of them let me down but I never thought this guy would do it.  It’s a cruel business this pro-wrestling industry where friendships are ruined due to politics or money but this friendship is now ruined because of a lack of respect.  Later I will explain to everyone that reads this how to get booked in Japan and/or Puerto Rico through me.

The last guy was a douche named Geronimo.  I actually liked this kid and thought that he was getting the short end of the stick until he thought he would be cool, put on his internet muscles and bury me on his My Space page for something that I didn’t do.

This kid was one of the stinking points in practice and the first Royal Rumble.  Once Chono-san saw him in practice he changed the third show match from Geronimo being in the semi-main event to the first match.  He also decided to take him out of the second Royal Rumble and put him in a singles match with Osamu Namiguchi.  Namiguchi is now a six-year vet but I think this kid thought he should have won which was not going to happen.  He ends up having an OK seven minute match with Nami but it was due to Nami being able to make him look good.  It was after that match and another awful performance by Himalayan Tiger that Chono took them both off the third show.  Only the work of Kikutaro got Tiger back on the third show and I even asked both Kiku and Chono if we should put the Indian kid back on and I was told no.  So what does this jackoff do? He writes a My Space blog burying me for taking him off the show! Is that what they taught him at the LADojo? I think not.  Maybe next time you think about why you get taken off a show or passed up for a Japan tour maybe you should look in the mirror or watch a DVD of yourself and blame the person that really took you off the show…YOU.  I hope you are happy now asshole that you got to speak your mind about something you had no idea about.  And to think that Navaho Warrior and GQ Gallo didn’t get that spot when they would have been a million times better then you.

If wrestlers want to know why they are not in WWE, TNA, or a main spot in Japan they should take a look at the guys that are fixtures there.  The TNA guys on the Expo shows (Shelley, Sabin, Daniels, & Young) ran circles around the gaijin talent except for Ricky Reyes.  So next time you want to know why TNA is not beating down your door ask yourself if you look as good as these guys or can hang in the ring with them.  Its almost 2009 and you need the cosmetic part as much as you need the in-ring work.  I get 15-20 emails a day (yes, a day) of guys asking me to help them get booked in Japan and/or Puerto Rico and how many of them can take a look at themselves as say that they can handle it?  Even while I am trying to get back into shape do I feel confident enough to email Jeff Jarrett or Vince Russo for a spot in TNA? Nope.  Do these people think that Japan is going to throw tons of money to a guy that doesn’t have gear or work out or has an “I’m the best attitude”?  Shit no.  And it’s a shame that I have to say this because I was always the guy that would take VHS tapes and DVDs over to Japan no matter how bad the talent was.  I figured it wasn’t my job to crush the dreams of guys but even if you do that you are a dick if you can’t get them in.  For every Jake Manning, Heartbreak Express, Josh Daniels, or Kirby Mack that deserves a spot in Japan and/or Puerto Rico there is 100 other guys emailing about how good they are and how they should be there.  It’s starting to make me freaking nuts.  So from now on before emailing me or Charlie LeGrande or even ZERO1 think to yourself: Am I what the company could be looking for?  And if not then you need to figure out what you need to do to get to the next level.  Look like a star, get in the gym, get in the car and travel to as many shows as possible, and learn the styles.  If you are unprepared in Puerto Rico and Japan (and TNA for that matter) you are going to get eaten alive and that is no one else’s fault but yours.  Why didn’t I get a wrestling job with the WWE last year? Because I couldn’t adjust my style to theirs quick enough.  Who’s fault is that? Vince McMahon? Johnny Ace? Nope, mine.  I am lucky that the WWE was not my goal but if it was then I would be heartbroken that I let myself down.

On the positive side it was awesome to meet Danny Hodge.  What a nice guy and still strong as an ox.  Hartley “Jacko” Jackson from Australia was great.  He had a good look and his work was great for Japan.  He reminded me of a young Leo Burke (watch your tapes and YouTube kids!).  Mike Kehner did another super job refereeing and it was cool that Chono picked him to ref the main event of the third show.

But I think the best part of the Expo shows was something that only a few people could really dig.  Because the company name was “Free Bird International” they played “Freebird” before the shows during the opening ceremonies.  At one point me and Mike Kehner looked at each other and laughed.  We got to come out to “Freebird” in Tokyo.

After the Expo shows it was time for me to check out of the really nice (and I mean really, really nice) hotel near Sumo Hall and back to my Japanese home base, the Mita Kaikan.  I give the Mita Kaikan a lot of flack for being a shitty hotel (and it is) but I have gotten used to it over the last few years.  It is what it is.  But once we got there (Reyes and Alex stayed for the ZERO1 tour) we made the best of it and got ready for the next two ZERO1 shows.  We even found a Gold’s Gym two train stops away from the hotel so we actually spent a good amount of time in the gym.

Reyes, as Kimbos Rice, shined and got a spot in the Ten-chi Jr. heavyweight tournament, which originally he was not scheduled for.  It goes back to what I was speaking about earlier about doing what it takes to get to the next level.  We laughed at first at the name they picked for Reyes because of MMA fighter Kimbo Slice, but then they explained the Kimbos meant something like “golden fire” or something cool like that.  If you see how they made him up on zerooneusa.com it was awesome.  And his match with Minoru Fujita at Korekan Hall pretty much guaranteed him a few more tours with ZERO1.  A spot well deserved.

Alex Anthony, originally a student of CW Anderson’s before going into the Army and now one of me and Reyes’ 3KWrestling Revolution Dojo standouts, was made up to become Yaya Brazil.  I don’t know what it was either!  But Alex took the ball and ran with it.  He stood toe to toe with Sawa from BattleArts on the first show and then teamed with Mr. Wrestling 3 against one of the best tag teams in the world, Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka and did great.  He got over with the fans and he will be the first to tell you that he isn’t even 25% of what he should and will be.  It takes hard work to be a standout in Japan.

Right from Japan I had to go to Puerto Rico and do TV against one of our young stars, BJ.  I don’t think he has a last name, even though I beg for one for him in every meeting!  This kid is good and will only get better with age and experience.  I was told that the attendance would be down because of the presidential election and also the local elections but never thought it would be that down.  Now with the elections done down in PR, its time that we get the houses up.  We have a good crew (lacking some babyfaces) and the TV ratings are great, its just getting people out to the live events.

Once I got home I traveled down to Raleigh, NC for Highspots/PWS show featuring Ric Flair.  I don’t know if the place was hard to find or it just wasn’t promoted right but the attendance was low.  It’s a shame too because there were some really good matches.  Goldust vs. Jake Manning was really good, CW Anderson vs. Charlie Dreamer and my brother-in-law Ares vs. Mike Lee was solid, and I thought me and Joey Silvia was pretty good.

Promoting is so hard and I feel bad for these guys that lose money every show.  I feel bad because I have been one of these guys for years.  I think about it and I imagine I have lost over $60,000 of my own money over the last seven years trying to promote PWF, WORLD-1, and 3KWrestling.  No one goes out there to lose money but it takes a lot of money to even begin to make money back.  It’s not an investment that pays back right away or sometimes ever.  With 3KWrestling we will be OK with Ryan and Reyes heading up a lot of the stuff and I will be back helping in the beginning of the New Year.  But it’s about finding the right building that is economical, keeping expenses down, and trying to get the word out about the show.  That was always the biggest problem I had with 3KWrestling.  I was trying to pay off the last shows losses while trying to promote the next show and money runs out quickly.  It’s a shame but it will get better as the economy gets better (hopefully).

6:48pm, November 15, San Juan

I figured I would take a few seconds to give people a look at the life of a pro-wrestler.  Not a WWE or TNA guy, but a young guy looking at the future or a grizzled vet keeping in the game.  That place would be Puerto Rico.

You can read about the pro-wrestling history of Puerto Rico but let me describe how we live, yes the little people.  They call us “gringos”.  I have heard Homicide us “F’n gringo” enough during our feud to know that its not good.

Most of us live in a 12x10 room, not unlike a prison cell (haha), and spend our days living a routine not unlike a prison.  For me its Denny’s in the morning for coffee and free wireless internet.  I get heat from the waitresses because my bill will only be $1.38 and I will be there for three hours. Then usually I eat lunch and hope that someone picks us up to go to a gym 15 minutes away but is free.  Yes, there is a gym within a 2 minute walk but the thought of paying $50 a month is not appeasing. Then it is off to the beach to the same guy that comps your beach chair if its not busy and you try to get as much sun (or in other words waste as much time) as possible.  Then its shower time and getting ready to go to the town.  We pack 4-6 to a car and put our lives in the hands of the driver, a young boy new to the world of professional wrestling and might have been a demolition derby driver before that.  The Puerto Rican traffic is bad but add on that people don’t care if they hit your car here.  I don’t know why anyone would ever buy a brand new car here. It’s only going to get dented within a matter of hours.  But after many close calls and not one word out of the young boy, we make it to the building.  Buildings in Puerto Rico are not air conditioned nor have the showers (if they are even there) been cleaned in years.  After your 15 minute match in front of eight year old kids chanting “asshole” at me the shower doesn’t look too bad.  After showering and putting on my suit (I always wear a suit to shows in Japan or Puerto Rico) I count down until I start sweating again because the locker room is a hundred and hell.  I know I will have to taken a third shower when I got back to my room because the after match shower just wasn’t going to take.  After a bumpy ride home (Puerto Rico does not repair their highways and its pothole heaven), I take a shower, make some ramen noodles (6 for $1 at Walgreens this week), and watch my two channels in English (USA & TBS).  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays are pretty much a catch up on the beach, gym, and watching TV.  What a world huh? I love it!

That’s what being a wrestler in Puerto Rico is about.  It’s not the most glamorous life but its also not bad either.  Think about it.  Where else can you wrestle three days a week (and we heard four days a week in ’09), go to the gym every day, and spend the rest of the day on the beach? It’s a place where you can either get in great shape or become a total slob.  I have chosen to try and get in shape.

Its almost Christmas time and that means it is time to get your Mr. Wrestling 3 & Steve Corino t-shirts!  3 Designs, $20 each or 3 for $50 plus shipping & handling.

The “Black Eagle” shirt is black or red with a white logo.  It is available in any size (Please add $1 for each size over XXL).

The “WPF MW3” shirt is white, grey, or red with a black logo. It is available in any size (Please add $1 for each size over XXL).

The “3 Black Eagle” shirt is available in black, royal blue, dark grey, or red.  It is available in any size (Please add $1 for each size over XXL).

You can PayPal your order to Steve@CorinoWrestling.com.  Please specify the design, size, and color of your shirt.  Orders are shipped out no more then 48 hours after processing.

Some of you are probably wondering what the “Black Eagle” is.  The Black Eagle is what the Japanese office is calling Mr. Wrestling 3.  Black for evil and the eagle for American.  Yep, an evil American.  I love it. 

Buy a few for your friends and family!! And hopefully the three pictures come out on the blog!

And that will end the 11^th chapter of The Corino Chronicles.  Enjoy and be good.