Wayne - When you started following pro wrestling, who was your favorite promotion?
Steve: I came to become a wrestling fan by happenstance. As a 10-year old boy, I was channeling surfing and landed on a live WWWF card from MSG on Sports Channel. For a period of time WWWF was the only game in town. Don’t ask me how - but somehow I learned about a California-based wrestling show that aired late night on Tuesday evenings on a New Jersey Spanish UHF channel. Shortly thereafter, I was able to watch Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on a cable channel emanating out of Buffalo, New York. Georgia Championship Wrestling on TBS was my next discovery. While enjoyed the options available to me, WWWF was my favorite promotion.
Wayne: Who was your favorite wrestler early as a fan?
Steve: WWWF…Chief Jay Strongbow
Mid-Atlantic…Ric Flair
GCW…The Fabulous Freebirds.
Wayne: Steve, who trained you before becoming a pro wrestler?
Steve: My initial trainers were Jon Dahmer and Eddie Valentine at the CZW Dojo. I was also trained by Jeff Rocker, Les Morgan, and Big Slam at various points.
Wayne: You wrestled for several years, some of it with Middle Kingdom Wrestling. What was your favorite match that you were involved in?
Steve: While I do have several favorite matches, I have more favorite moments/spots. A lot of those moments revolve around fan interaction. I think my favorite USA moment was when I was wrestling in an EWA show in Jackson, New Jersey. The front row was occupied by inebriated bachelor party guests. It was the first time I got face pops as a heel. In China, the highlight would be my extended feud with Wang Tao, but I also had memorable matches with Zombie Dragon, Curry Kid, and Black Mamba.
Wayne: You made a return to the ring with World Underground Wrestling - Philippines. How did you feel during the match with Ken Cifer and how you felt afterwards.
Steve: Let’s start with how I felt before the match. I was very nervous because not only was this a new promotion for me, but also because I was coming off a two-year layoff. During the match I gassed literally in the first minute.
Ken really carried me through the match, and I will always respect him for that. Afterwards I felt a combination of jubilation and sheer exhaustion. I had two different people suggest I allow the medical staff to take my blood pressure.
Wayne: I've asked this question with the Southeast Asia wrestlers. How do you feel right now with the improvement in the Southeast Asia promotions? Are they going in the right direction?
Steve: Honestly, I have pretty much only worked for MKW in China other than one match for WLW (also in China) before debuting in WUW. It was truly a pleasure being involved with both groups.
Wayne: Finally, your thoughts on pro wrestling as a whole today? Is it the Golden Age that some people believe?
Steve: I believe that professional wrestling as a whole is experiencing a resurgence. Between Triple H taking creative control, the presence of AEW, and even NXT are definitely all positive things for the business in my opinion.
