Interview #9 - Jag Garcia

Jag Garcia is one of the most knowledgeable wrestling fans that I know, not just from the Philippines, but worldwide.

 

Jag co-founded a podcast group known as Kayfabe Cafe back in 2015 with Ant Sierra.  Jag has stepped away to focus on some other things in the meantime.  

 

I've yet to meet him in person but he's one of my avid followers on the blog.  He started following wrestling in 2004.  Definitely, it was a good time in the industry.  A lot of my followers started watching wrestling around that time.

 

One of the things about Jag, and the Pinoy wrestling community, is their passion and knowledge of this industry.  Despite all the years following it, there is so much more to learn about the squared circle. 

 

Jag is definitely one of the nicest people, let alone wrestling fans, that I've known on social media.  Am definitely looking forward to meeting him when returning to the Philippines in early December.

Recently, Jag was gracious to do an interview and answer some wrestling questions.  Thank you for wanting to do this.  Here it is.

 

Wayne:  When did you begin to follow wrestling? 

 

Jag:  I started watching wrestling some time around 2004, shortly after WrestleMania XX. Before then, I only knew a bit of it here. I remember first hearing that wrestling is staged is from an episode of The Little Lulu Show in the 90s.

 

Wayne:  Who was your favorite wrestler when you began watching? 

 

Jag:  Definitely Eddie Guerrero! I blame him for breaking my moral compass because he got me to cheer for him even if he lied, cheated, and stole. Haha!

 

Wayne:  When did you begin to follow Pinoy Wrestling? Was it Philippine Wrestling Revolution, Manila Wrestling Federation, Filipino Pro Wrestling and/or World Underground Wrestling - Philippines?

 

Jag:  My first exposure to the Pinoy Wrestling scene was around 2014, when a certain classical character of PWR visited Cubao Expo, an art village in Quezon City. He showed us videos of their recent show which was at Makati Cinema Square at the time. About a year later, I got to attend my first show in November 2015, which was their first show in iAcademy.

 

Wayne:  Do you have a favorite wrestler or wrestlers in any of the Pinoy Wrestling promotions? 

 

Jag:  Fabio Makisig, and even if I boo them, Jake De Leon and Robin Sane, too. They're all amazing performers and earned the reputation they have in the scene. 

 

Wayne:  Would you like to see more of things like Meet And Greets, Sports Card shows involving wrestlers and/or memorabilia?

 

Jag:  Most definitely! It's great to bring fans together and even bring in more fans to the scene. When I was with Kayfabe Cafe, we would run WWE and NJPW watch parties at the bar I managed. Seeing how they were able to pull off DexCon, I'm excited to see them run more events in the future. I'm kinda resisting the cardboard crack at the moment, but it's really cool to see what everyone got in their collection!

 

Wayne:  What are your thoughts on wrestling in the Philippines now and its future?

 

Jag:  The Pinoy wrestling has met a lot of hardships. It was painful to see hurdle after hurdle, but as the saying goes, Filipinos are resilient. Seeing how far our community has taken it to achieve TV shows and more wrestling-centric events, things are about to get much better. As long as everybody focuses on their goals and keep making the product better, I believe the Philippines will be a sought-after destination for wrestling.