Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Talking Shttt with Socal Crazy
55 Plays26 days ago
Talking Shttt sat down with indie masked wrestling standout SoCal Crazy for a raw, no-filters conversation.
We dive into the grind of the indie scene, life behind the mask, the passion that fuels the hustle, and what it really takes to keep chasing the dream. No scripts. No fluff. Just Talking Shttt.
🎧 Tap in and hear the story straight from the ring.
Hashtags:
#TalkingShttt #IndieWrestling #MaskedWrestler #SoCalCrazy #WrestlingPodcast #ProWrestlingLife #IndieWrestlers #BehindTheMask #WrestlingStories #NoFiltersNoScripts #JustTalkingShttt
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Network Affiliation
00:00:02
Speaker
This podcast is part of the Deluxe Edition Network. To find other great shows on the network, head over to deluxeeditionnetwork.com. That's deluxeeditionnetwork.com.
00:00:43
Speaker
What is happening, and everybody? You are now tuned in to Talking Shit. Welcome to the shit show. With me, as always, I've got Mark.
00:00:55
Speaker
How you doing? And we are part of the Deluxe Edition Network. And on the network, Mark, there are two podcasts of the month. Do you know who those guys are?
00:01:07
Speaker
Feryl H. Flicks and History I'd Like to Fuck with Don Brody. And I love that. I just love that. Guys, head on over and check out those two podcasts as well as us over there.
00:01:27
Speaker
We are talking shit. Check everybody out on the Deluxe
Guest Introduction: SoCal Crazy
00:01:30
Speaker
Edition Network. Tonight with with us, Mark, we have from SoCal Pro Wrestling and a couple of other promotions that you may have seen them in.
00:01:41
Speaker
Good friend of mine, SoCal Crazy.
00:01:45
Speaker
Hey guys, how you doing? what good Thank you. Thank you guys for having me on. No, man. Thank you for coming. It's been, it's been our pleasure to have
Health Recovery and Wrestling Scene Evolution
00:01:54
Speaker
you. And I know that you got some words of wisdom for these young guys that are coming up today.
00:01:59
Speaker
But, uh, first question, man, super easy. How are you? Um, I'm doing good. I'm doing a lot better now. Uh, you know, i had my little health scare, uh, and, um,
00:02:11
Speaker
But, um you know, I'm doing doing a lot better, getting back in shape, but getting back into ring shape. um So i'm ah I'm doing very good, and I have no more complaints. That is fantastic, man. We're super happy to have you. We're super happy that you're doing really good. And we can't wait to see you get back in that ring, man. we Mark is, I've turned Mark on to SoCal and West Coast Wrestling Company and a couple other, you know, he he was not into the indie stuff, you know, there for a while. yeah
00:02:43
Speaker
There was bits and pieces of the indies that I knew about, but, you know, I didn't know what how many were over there on the West Coast. Mm-hmm. I mean, there's a lot, it seems like. Yeah, we're, ah you know, we got we got a we got a pretty good scene, you know, out here. um Very blessed to ah to have a good scene in the, yeah not only the Southern California area, but all throughout the state of California. You know, even NorCal um has tremendous, tremendous talent and and tremendous companies up there. So, um you know, the it's funny because I remember ah when I first broke in, which was like in 2002, The only big Southern California company at the time was ah ah UPW run by Rick Bassman.
00:03:26
Speaker
And essentially that was, I believe that was considered one of the WWF at the time, developmental ah companies. um So, you know, from 2002 to where we're at now, i mean California just exploded with wrestling companies.
Wrestling Career and WrestleMania Memories
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah. So that's a good thing, too. I mean, yeah it brings it brings more more guys like you into the fold. And it's like you figure you figure out who's going to make it and who's going to be. i mean.
00:03:56
Speaker
I got to do it for a little bit, literally feel like it was a about of two weeks. And then I was, I was just, but I had a great time, man. I had a great time with you guys, you know, wrestling and learning how to take bumps and how to call spots for you guys and stuff like that. So yeah. I just, you know, bringing Mark into it. Mark is a huge wrestling fan. He's he's been watching WWF.
00:04:24
Speaker
I've been watching since WrestleMania three. Yeah. Since WrestleMania 3. I went to WrestleMania 3. Yeah. Pontiac Silverdome. so That was my first experience ever watching it.
00:04:38
Speaker
and it was It was awesome watching that. you know Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, Hogan, Giant. Oh, yeah. By far, by by far to me, when anybody says anything about WrestleMania 3, I immediately think Steamboat and Savage.
00:04:57
Speaker
knowing that he had what he had wrote down on the piece of pad or the pad yellow notebook pad like i have right here um like it was like 200 and something moves that they had set down and they knew him by heart and they wanted to steal the show and that they did i mean granted you know seeing andre the giant get slammed you know that doesn't happen that often and but you know but yeah you know i mean i'm a huge hogan and andre fan but uh i don't know man i mean to me the most iconic moment was you know steamboat's arm drags to to uh to savage you know like that that stands out more than the body slam uh than hogan body slamming andre to me those uh those those arm uh i mean when he did that
00:05:48
Speaker
Those are the iconic moves that he does. you know Nobody can implicate those. Not the way he did it. Right, right. I don't think anybody else anybody will. you know i mean you know ah
Wrestling Name and Career Achievements
00:06:00
Speaker
we try We try to imitate it as best we can, but there's no way anybody can imitate those arm drags.
00:06:06
Speaker
oh No. No, he was always telling you, like, bam, we're doing this. We're doing this. you know If you watch that that precursor to the move, Ricky was always telling you like it's coming.
00:06:19
Speaker
I mean, if you just, you gotta to focus in on that one point Mark and I promise you, you'll see it and you'll be like, oh shit. Here it comes. Believe it or not. um The WrestleManias that I have went to, I've actually never actually sat back and rewatched them.
00:06:35
Speaker
What a shame you need to, you should. I don't know what it is about it, but I just never have. I i went to WrestleMania three and WrestleMania 24. or And you won't go back and rewatch those because you lived it? I haven' i haven't. no it I mean, I lived it, but I don't know why. I just don't.
00:06:54
Speaker
I mean, I've seen matches from it, but I didn't watch the whole thing. Gotcha. So, Cal, you've been you've been doing this for how long now? um i've been I've been blessed with this for about 20 years now.
00:07:09
Speaker
you know, I started in ah i started in late, I'd like to say like late, early two thousand late 2001 early 2002 i believe is when i started uh you know i uh i've been i've been very very blessed with uh with um you know still still still doing it so i'm i'm so happy that ah that i got the opportunity to experience my childhood dream yeah i mean if you didn't have the skill i don't think that you would still be doing it you know what i mean you had a skill from
00:07:42
Speaker
from jump street. I mean, everybody saw it. And that's why i think you've been in a lot of promotions and, and it's because everybody knows the name. When I say so Cal crazy over here in Florida, it's not like, it's not like you're missed. Everybody was like, wait a minute. I know that name. Why do I know that name?
Wrestling Passion and WWE Tryout Experience
00:08:00
Speaker
And I'm like, Oh, let me show you.
00:08:02
Speaker
Here you go. Yeah. It's, it's, you know, it's, it's, um, obviously it's flattering you know um it's it's just so funny because when i uh when i started wrestling and uh you know i never i knew that there wasn't much money to be made you know unless you you know you you got that you hit that lottery and you got that big contract that everybody's always searching for in this business but um you know to me it was you know i was a little kid that was that would go over to my aunt's house and you know jump off of couches with my cousins and
00:08:35
Speaker
You know, we would cut out cardboard. we would make belts out of cardboard. and You know, me and my cousins and the neighborhood kids, we would, you know, we would basically recreate what Monday Night Raw is now, you know. um So i to me, when I broke in, I just wanted to see if I could do it, you know. Like, I was like, I was always ah curious. i was like, can can I do this? can i and And even if I did do it, how how far can I get?
00:09:02
Speaker
you know, into this wrestling business. And um I just, you know, I just, I just said, it was you know, screw it, let's do it. and and And, you know, I've been, like I said, I've been, I've been blessed for 20 years. I've had a great 20 year run and hopefully I can go for a little bit longer. um you know, I don't feel like I'm done yet.
00:09:20
Speaker
um So, you know, hopefully, hopefully I can, I can continue a little bit longer. We hope so. We we hope so. we We like watching you. um How'd you come up with your name?
00:09:32
Speaker
Um, actually I didn't come up with my name. It was actually given to me. ah when I, uh, I signed up at, uh, at a place called, uh, California championship wrestling, not here in in San Diego, um, Northern San Diego, Vista, California to be exact.
00:09:48
Speaker
And the promoter at the time, ah ah Charles Gibbs was, um, You know, he ah when i first when i went to to his school and I signed up for his school, i
Wrestling Persona and Titles Achieved
00:10:00
Speaker
was ah you know i was they were teaching me the the basics, you know, the bumping and the rolling and and all of that stuff. and But I was a little bit more eager than anybody else did that at the time, I believe, because i you know immediately I wanted to learn hurricanahs. Like, I wanted to learn that stuff, and I wanted to learn how to how to fly out of the ring and then all that stuff that I saw all the great luchadors do, you know.
00:10:23
Speaker
And so I remember one night we were we were training and he came up to me and he was like, okay, you know, we're we're going to see what, if you can do a Hurricarana. i was like, s sweet, let's do it.
00:10:34
Speaker
So um he had these two other big guys with training with us at the time who I believe that that they were, they they went as cash money or or something like that. I don't really remember their names, but they were a massive guys, you know.
00:10:51
Speaker
And so he had one of the guys base for me off. ah So I did like the top rope Rana where I jump off the top, you know hook my my legs on the neck and then and take them over.
00:11:02
Speaker
um And so I did that a few times. And he just he just came up to me after after a few attempts. And he's like, man, that's you're crazy. Like, you've you've only been doing this for about three weeks. That's that's insane. You're effing crazy.
00:11:17
Speaker
And immediately he was like, I got your name. You're still crazy. And I was like, oh, okay. know, I mean, it was a name that I picked. And honestly, you know, I didn't – I wasn't in love with it when he first told me he first mentioned it, you know. But out of respect and out of the opportunity that he gave me, you know, I stuck with the name. And ran the course it.
00:11:42
Speaker
and then And I'm telling you guys, that name is synonymous. I mean, when people talk about West Coast Wrestling, when people talk about SAW, when people talk about New Wave, all you're going to hear aside from, yeah, that's where Anchors Away came from.
00:11:58
Speaker
Yeah, but did you know that your boy SoCal has fought in all these promotions? Did you know that? Because that is fucking great. That is great.
00:12:09
Speaker
I mean, how many do you know how many promotions you've been in, SoCal? Yeah. Oh, man. well You know what? I don't. And and what one regret that I have is um um I wish I would have written them down, you know, as like match for match as I as i was going.
00:12:26
Speaker
But I was just so excited just to get, you know, just to get booked. I was just so excited. I just went out there. and um But no, I mean, to answer your question, I have no idea. I have no idea. I wish. Yeah.
00:12:39
Speaker
Yeah. um Let's see. the mask you've had You've held actually 13 titles. Oh, wow. you're I didn't even know that. There's actually a website that you can go to. i'll I'll send you the website. It gives you your details on match statistics by year.
00:12:59
Speaker
says that from 2001 to 2021, 530 it says that from two thousand and one to now or two thousand and twenty one you had five hundred and 36 matches, you've won 47% of them and lost 48% 21% of were draws.
00:13:22
Speaker
Wow. I guess that's pretty accurate, I guess. I don't know, man. But, I mean,
00:13:32
Speaker
yeah. It's pretty cool to be able to see, like, what side is that, Mark? I'll have to find it in a minute. Okay. I actually, what I did is I screenshotted I was going send it to you to show you, but then um I got busy.
00:13:50
Speaker
It's life, you know, life life has to continue. It's called a cage match.net. Oh, actually. Okay. Yeah. ah I have heard of that, of that website. um a few A few workers out here actually have told me about it, but i've never I've never really checked it out. I might have checked it out a few times, but not I've never really studied it, I don't think.
00:14:14
Speaker
i didn't I didn't realize that they were that deep into the statistics and all that. This one, this one definitely, you need if you want to look at something, yeah. See, I was trying to look up something to see if I could find, up you know, even a little picture.
00:14:27
Speaker
of Brian on the, you know, le's lean or literally, I can't, I can't remember. I can't remember what I did to the picture that you sent me years ago, just to show me that you were actually doing it.
00:14:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that there was one photo float floating around ah with me in it. And that was that was probably good enough because I just wasn't good
Challenges and Cultural Experiences in Wrestling
00:14:50
Speaker
enough for the ring, man. I mean, I could take the bump.
00:14:52
Speaker
ah You know, I make it look good and stuff like that. But going to tell you something. When I went home at night, my body hurt. Why didn't you just become a manager? pass that doesn't happen in the, that doesn't happen in the industry. And you can ask, well, that's true. And they'll tell you really, you don't really have them.
00:15:11
Speaker
You don't just step up and say, Oh, I'm going to be so-and-so's manager. That doesn't work that way. That's the promoter put you in that place. Yeah. And, and, and even, and even to be a manager, honestly, you, I still believe that you have to go through the trails and you have to go through the bumping sessions and all of that, you know, mean you have to stop it because yeah the stuff you have to go through.
00:15:29
Speaker
Um, well since we're on that. um Have you had any tryouts with ah any of the big corporations? um I have. actually had a tryout with WWE a few years ago. um it it was actually, ah i believe I believe they called it Luchador Night. So it was me and a few luchadors that they ah they brought us in for for tryouts. and then I guess, i don't know, to get looked at, I guess is the best way to say it.
00:16:00
Speaker
um And um I was lucky enough, I believe i was paired up with Hector Canales, another awesome, awesome worker who's out here on the West Coast.
00:16:11
Speaker
And um we did it. I think we did ah we did a few ah a quick match. um I believe we i believe Jamie Noble. uh was there and uh i know dean malenko was there i'm a momma huge linko guy so you know i was i was starstruck when i when i finally saw him i i just i didn't realize how short he was so i was i was i was kind of still because i'm i'm not a tall guy myself you know i knew he was short but i mean i never even actually paid attention to how short he was yeah yeah he's probably about as tall as you man i mean he's you can show a movie off that guy's back man he's just solid
00:16:49
Speaker
um but yeah we had the we had a good a good try out and a good see uh you know they they looked at us they they gave us feedback back of what we needed to work on what was good what wasn't good um i believe that same tryout was actually the tryout that they ended up picking up uh ricardo rodriguez uh because he he was with us and and that's how he he ended up getting his his whole start off of that tryout so yeah it was It was a fun night man. It was it was a great night. It was uh, one of my goals was accomplished I've always wanted to bump in a w WWE ring, uh, you know compared to the indie rings that I was so used to so You know bumping in that ring was like oh my god. It's like like bumping on a bed man. It was it was amazing Wow Wow Whose dog? yeah
00:17:38
Speaker
That's yours not mine. Yeah, that's that's that's my dog Gordo Gordo's saying, hey, hey, hey, you would you wanna let me out here? What are you doing here?
00:17:49
Speaker
So how did you come up with the mask? um The mask, actually, I, yeah again, when I was in CCW, I yeah i didn't i didn't have a ah mask design per se, you know? ah So another guy that was training with me who, ah ah he ended up wrestling as street style as an XPW. who now wrestles as ah Lou Jacobs out in the East coast, I believe for Paul Roma's company out there.
00:18:18
Speaker
Um, and we were training together and, uh, you know, ah out of the, out of the class that we had, or we started, uh, they started to windle down, you know, like a lot of people started dropping out and, it just, it was, you know unfortunately wrestling isn't for everybody.
00:18:34
Speaker
Um, and so finally one night he, um, you know, we, we were just talking about training and whatnot. And and he came up to me and he was like, Hey, you know, I have this mask. I know you, you want to wear a mask.
00:18:46
Speaker
Um, you know, if you want, if you want it, it's yours and, uh, you know, try it out. Let's see, see how you like it. So I ended up putting the mask on and basically training with it just to get used to the training, with you know, we're running everything with a mask. And, um,
00:19:02
Speaker
Basically, that mask that he gave me is the same mask that I've been wearing for the last 20 years. You know, I've added every, you know, little details here and there, like I've added the stars. Basically, it was the same, ah what we call antifas, which is the outer part of the mask. it's the say It was the same one. You know, I just, ah i I formed a really, really good bond and friendship with him. So out of respect, I just got just kept it and I ran with it.
00:19:29
Speaker
Cool. Yeah. I remember when the mask didn't cover your whole head, I feel like it covered, wasn't it just this part right here? Yeah. Well, no, wait, the, when I, when I first broke in, I had a full mask, which just, just like this one. yeah um I had the full mask. And then after, after a while, I, ah um I had a Mohawk. So I was like, you know, I, really want to just show my Mohawk. So i ended up just getting, you know,
00:19:56
Speaker
And then so some of my gear, I just end up getting like, it's just the face part. So
Future Aspirations and Podcast Arrangement
00:20:00
Speaker
like I had the top open so I could spike my hair up and um you know change change my hair with whatever color mask I was wearing that night or or or that, you know, for for that particular show.
00:20:12
Speaker
Perfect. Gotcha. Your dream match. Yours. You get to go wrestle somebody. Who is it? Where are you? um Wow. Let's see. Well, if it was... a If it was four years ago, i would say Ricky Marvin at the Tokyo Dome.
00:20:32
Speaker
Um, that was, you know, about vo I've always been a Ricky Marvin fan and, um, I, um, I've always loved, um, always wanted to get in the ring with him. Um, one match that actually a dream match that actually came true. i mean, there, there was, you know, i've been in the ring. I've been lucky enough to be in the ring with a lot of the greats, but, um,
00:20:54
Speaker
uh, a couple of years ago for SoCal Pro, I was actually able to get into the ring was super crazy. And, um, that was, uh, that was awesome. That was an awesome experience. uh, you know, I, I wish it was at a bigger arena, but, you know, just, just doing that in front of my, my home promotion, which, you know, like I consider SoCal Pro my home promotion. So just doing that in front of their, you know, in front of that, those fans who have followed me for years. And, um,
00:21:21
Speaker
was, was an amazing experience, man. That, that, that, that by far is, is, is, is always going to be with me. But, um, but as far as answering your question, I guess dream match would have to be, you know, Ricky Marvin, um, somewhere in Japan. Tokyo Dom.
00:21:37
Speaker
Have you wrestled in, uh, Tokyo or in Japan? I did. I was, uh, I was able to, uh, a few years ago, I was able to wrestle for, a pro wrestling Kajeki, uh, which it was, i i remember I think it was Nagato, Japan, if I remember correctly. I don't know. But um I have a friend who wrestles out there who goes by Dragon Yuki.
00:22:04
Speaker
And um every time he comes to the States, I yeah you know i try to help him out with with with getting work out here. and um he did the same when i when you know i was able to go out there and he uh he helped me get a booking out there with ah pro wrestling kajeki which uh you know i was i was very intimidated you know i yeah i remember going into the locker room and you know everybody was speaking japanese and i walked in i was like oh man how am i going to communicate first of all who am i going to wrestle and how are we going to communicate Luckily, Dragon Yuki knows a little bit of Spanish, so he was able to help me out with translating and everything. But the funny thing was though the the worker that I ended up working that night who wrestles under the name of UMA, which is U-M-A, he was a luchador. So he he he came up to me and he started talking Spanish to me.
00:22:59
Speaker
You know, and I was, I was like blown away. i was like, Oh wow. Okay, cool. And so we ended up, you know, uh, talking and and getting our match together in in Spanish, which totally not expected, you know?
00:23:11
Speaker
Um, so, uh, it was, it was an awesome experience. yeah You know, I was, um, the, the crowd, the Japanese crowd is,
Wrestling Philosophy and Roles
00:23:20
Speaker
is different, is different than the Mexican crowd in the American crowd. Obviously they, uh, they, um, you know, I was, i remember doing the match and not,
00:23:29
Speaker
not hearing like a clap or or any kind of noise, you know, I'm so used to, if you do a move here, people are like, you know, yeah, yeah, good, good, whatever. But there, you know, there was nothing. So I, you know, I was thinking, man, am I not, am I not doing good? Am I not working hard enough?
00:23:46
Speaker
It turns out that I guess it's a sign of respect, you know, dragon Yuki at the end of the match, you know, he told me, he's like, no, don't worry about it. It's that's how, you know, we, we show our respect. So I was like, awesome, man. That was, that was really cool.
00:23:59
Speaker
It's like people were more focused on you guys. Right, right.
00:24:06
Speaker
I gotcha. Right. More than the CrowdPop itself, they were focused more. Right. You guys created a good story then that was that they had to watch.
00:24:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it was, it was, and it was good, man. You know, it was, it was an awesome experience. The, uh, I still keep in contact with, uh, with the guy that I worked with, Uma, you know, where, uh, where we still keep in contact and, um, you know, I am, uh, I'm working on hopefully getting back out there with them. Uh, you know, uh, so hopefully in the future I can, I can return to that, to that great company.
00:24:38
Speaker
Very cool. Very cool.
00:24:43
Speaker
Mark's got a bunch of questions he's going through. He's like, what, what question do I ask him next? Yeah. I mean, what he wants to talk about what, hold hold on, hold on. I want to tell, I want to tell everybody what, uh, how fast this interview came together. All right.
00:24:59
Speaker
It was, um, I think it was Monday morning. I, and I just, uh, messaged, uh, Andy. i said, okay, do you have anybody else that might be able to get on the show? He goes, well, I said, well, what about SoCal crazy?
00:25:11
Speaker
He says, um, let me reach out to him and I'll be back. He goes, okay. He came back about 10 minutes later and he goes, SoCal gave me your gamemate his number to give to you. Okay.
00:25:25
Speaker
I'm sitting there. i'm like, okay, no problem. And I messaged you. And then right after that, I messaged Brian. I said, Hey, I just got SoCal Crazy's number. I'm messaging him to see if he wants to have a, ah ah to come on and talk.
00:25:41
Speaker
And well, um, Brian hadn't even responded back to me and you you said, yeah. I said, oh crap. Oh, that was quick. I mean, it was, it and that was the fastest I've ever had anybody answer me on, yeah, I'll come do it.
00:25:54
Speaker
It was freaking awesome. Yeah, no, no. yeah Again, I thank you guys. You know, it's, um you know, one of the things that I was that i that i've ah was taught in in this and this business by a lot of the great mentors and that I have was like, you know, you,
00:26:11
Speaker
you know, you, you, you have to open up, you you know, you have to, you have to be available to people and, and, you know, like you have to, you know, you have to like, how can I say this? Like, you have to make sure that people understand what, what, what's going on. If they have questions, you know, like I was, ah I was always taught to, to make time ah for, for, for, for the fans or for, you know, for people that do podcasts or anything like that, you know, like,
00:26:41
Speaker
So um I was honored add him when when when ah when Andy hit me up and i was like, yeah, for sure, man, for sure. i was I was very, very blown away and honored that you guys would even consider it. So thank you guys. Yeah, i mean i really i yeah yeah we do. I was sitting there and I'm looking at some of your matches. and I'm like, wow, you know, he should have been signed a long time ago.
00:27:03
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. like Like I said, though, I was just, uh, you know, i was just doing it to see if I can hang with, with, with the guys, you know, like, you know like obviously watching it as, you know, growing up and watching, watching, you know, the Mexican luchadores and then, you know, uh, the old, uh, I was obsessed with WCW Saturday night.
00:27:23
Speaker
Like I was obsessed with that show, you know? So, you know, watching that, you know, I just, always, always wondered, man, I wonder if I can do that. So, you know, like i said, and I was very lucky that I, that I was able to.
00:27:36
Speaker
Everybody that we've talked to has had a, um, a reason why that they chose wrestling as their path. You know, what they seem to get them to actually like it. What was the match that when you looked at it, you were like, that's it.
00:27:51
Speaker
That's what I want to do. Um, It was probably my first encounter with Adam Pierce. Um, at the time, Pierce was the NWA world's heavyweight champion. And he was going around. Um, I believe he going around the nation, just defending the the title and, uh, uh, so Cal pro was lucky.
00:28:13
Speaker
to to book him one night. And I remember ah Jeff, the promoter owner of SoCal Pro,
Training, Mentorship, and Career Impact
00:28:20
Speaker
another good friend of mine, he yeah he came up to me and he was like, hey man, I'm goingnna i know i'm thinking of putting you with Pierce. What do you think?
00:28:27
Speaker
And I was like, immediately I got nervous. was like, oh man, Pierce, that's a pretty big opponent. Um, he's like, yeah, you, you think you'll be ready? And I was like, Oh, for sure. You know, you know, not knowing inside that maybe I wasn't ready, but you know, there wasn't, there was no way that I was going to let that opportunity slip, you know, slip by me. So I got myself ready, you know, and, uh, um, you know, I, had I had, had known Adam prior to the, to, to this match.
00:28:55
Speaker
Um, and, uh, but I believe that that match, that first match that we had, he, uh, you know, he, I always like to think of it like he blessed me into wrestling because he, just, just doing that match with him, he, like it taught me a lot. it It really taught me a lot, you know, and, uh, you know, he, uh, Adam's one of the, men Adam's amazing. You know, he's, he's one of the best storytellers in this business, you know, by period, he's one of the hardest working individuals in this business that I've ever met.
00:29:25
Speaker
So, you know, I, he's just learning a lot from him in that ring, you know, that's, I believe we went 20, 30 minutes, but, You know, those 20, 30 minutes was like going to school, man. It was just an amazing experience with him. So I'd have to say that that match was was, you know, after the match, I felt, I don't want to say I felt accomplished, but I felt like, okay, I i belong here. Like, this is my world.
00:29:50
Speaker
Right on. Right on. Is there anything that you, everybody's got this in their, in their head, there's things that you love and then there's things that you hate about the wrestling industry in general and not in so many words, cause don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but is there anything that you hate about wrestling? Um, well, I mean, there's obviously like, you know, like every, every business you have your ups and your downs. Uh, I do,
00:30:23
Speaker
I don't like when deserving people don't get their much, their spotlight. um I guess that's the best way to say it, you know, because i know ah i know a lot of people that that deserve to be and you know and in in a big company or and who have worked hard and hard and hard throughout so many years that I've known them. And unfortunately, they just never received that that spotlight. so ah you know But it's unfortunately, you know it's it's you know wrestling is like a business. you know you you you have to You have to crawl and do whatever you have to do to to get to get to that spot. you know There's just there's so many wrestlers in the world. and it's Somebody told me ah a few years ago, it's like hitting the lottery.
00:31:08
Speaker
you know So it's it's it literally is like hitting the lottery you know to to get to get a good position and anywhere and in any big company. Um, so I think that, that, that would be the only thing that I don't really appreciate about wrestling. You know, I really wish that as soon as you broke in and and you showed that, you know, that you, that you, you know how to, to work and then and you're, you're safe and you know what you're doing. I wish that you automatically went somewhere big, but you know, that's, again, that's unfortunately, that's not the case. So that would be the only thing that I don't really like about, about wrestling. You know, it's like you, you work and you work and you work and you work and
00:31:45
Speaker
Sometimes that that spotlight just never comes, you know? But at the same time, you know, you you got to you got to have fun. You have to have fun to reach that spotlight because if you don't have fun in wrestling, then you start looking at it as a job.
00:31:56
Speaker
And once that happens, then it's like, oh, man, I got booked. oh Oh, my God, I don't want to go do this. You know what I'm saying? I don't know anybody that was on that level like you know when I was in it with you guys. when When I first met you, that was through Andy. we were you guys were SAW.
00:32:16
Speaker
And I went to Rapata's house for the very first time to learn how to be a referee. I get to learn how to ref.
00:32:27
Speaker
Then it was, we want you to take a couple of bumps here and there. Okay, we'll take some bumps. And then I wanted to wrestle. I was like, that's it. I've taken bumps. Now I want to get in there. and i would done and And that's why I said, you know, I mean, I liked it.
00:32:41
Speaker
I liked it to the point until I got a receipt from Andy one time during during a battle, during a battle royal at ah at a church that we did. Right. we did a thing.
00:32:54
Speaker
And I think I did a rolling clothesline while he was on the middle rope. almost pushing him out of the ring. He didn't like that. Took me to the middle of the ring, whacked me right in the dome and then threw me right out of the ring. It was a good time.
00:33:09
Speaker
very That's a good time, man. I still wanted to meet you a rolling clothesline. Okay. First of all, I loved the fact that I was able to be thrown outside the ring. My big ass. I'm just saying, you know, uh, titles.
00:33:25
Speaker
You've held several titles. just Tag titles. Have you held any tag titles? And if so, who did you tag with to get those titles? um I have. i um I've held ah the EWF Tag Team Championships with Espiritu Internal. That was that we had.
00:33:49
Speaker
don't remember or don't recall that
00:33:53
Speaker
i still i don't i don't remember i don't recall how that how that ah came to be. um I just, I remember um getting booked at EWF, you know, and it was hard because EWF was ah is ah a promotion out here ran by ah Jesse Hernandez. And it's it's it's a pretty big promotion in California. You know, they they've been around for for a very, very long time, but it's pretty prestigious. Yeah.
00:34:19
Speaker
And so i yeah I just remembered getting partnered up with Speedy2. And, you know, i didn't I didn't really know. We didn't really know each other until that, you know, they they they put us together. And then ah slowly we started, you know, we started ah getting to know each other. And, and um you know, we ah immediately clicked. And we had very good chemistry together. You know, sometimes, you know, you get lucky and that happens, you know.
00:34:44
Speaker
um And so we we ended up, but you know, getting... um you know, uh, running with, ah EWF tag titles and we had a very good run, ah with them. We, we had some pretty good opponents. Um, so it was, uh, that was probably one of the, you know, the, the, the best, uh, tag teams that I've been involved with. Um, I've also, uh, I've been, uh, SoCal pro, uh,
00:35:11
Speaker
tag team champion with, on, I've had various partners, you know, winning those, ah those titles, you know, ah Tommy Wilson and Katana Vera. And ah so I've, I've had, a I've had, I've had I've had a lot of good partners, you know, and in in that company, but as far as like a legit partner, I'd have to say a speedy to infernal, you know, was, would probably be like like my partner that we would always ah we would always get booked together, I guess.
00:35:46
Speaker
so So if there was a day where somebody said, hey, you need to get a tag partner, call somebody, who are you calling? Definitely a speedy tip. I would definitely call a speedy tip and let him know. ah Although I think – I believe he's retired now, you know but um I'm sure if I like give him a call, I'd drag him out.
00:36:07
Speaker
Right on. Speaking of retirements, there's a there's one coming up here on the 15th. Is that right? Well, it's not a retirement. It's an induction.
00:36:19
Speaker
Induction. Hall of Fame induction. how do you feel about How do you feel about Andy and Trevor being placed in that Hall of Fame? Oh, it's well-deserved. I love those guys to death. um You know, I... ah i I met those guys at SAW, um, you know, prior to joining SAW, I had, uh, I was already working and, um, I was actually brought in, ah to, uh, SAW by a mutual friend of ours, uh, who, uh, his name was Oscar, who, uh, ran a Lucha Libre promotion out here in San Diego.
00:36:55
Speaker
And so Oscar came and he's like, Hey man, like, you know, I want you to come and meet these, you know, there're this company in Oceanside and, you know, let's, uh, maybe you can, you know, you can run training one night.
00:37:07
Speaker
i was like, sure, let's go. And so I went and I met, I met ah everybody there at SAW, you know, Mike Rapata all the other the guys that were there. ah you know, I met Andy and Trevor and, um, I immediately clicked with them immediately. i mean, those guys, I, they're, they're definitely my family.
00:37:24
Speaker
You know, they're, they're somebody who might, I treasure and I love and i anything for them. Um, so for them, you know, to get, uh, to get, uh, inducted into the SoCal Pro Hall of Fame is is amazing. You know, it's amazing. Like, honestly, I, I credit anchors away for, uh, for putting me on the map, you know, even though, I mean, i like I said, I was working prior to meeting them. I believe it was my encounters with them that just solidified, you know, solidified me out here. Um, you know, those guys made me look amazing. They made me look like a million dollars. And so, and so I really, um,
00:38:00
Speaker
I'm really thankful that they're getting inducted and um I'm, and know I'm, I'm almost like, I'm almost crying because they're, they're just like, you know, they're my family. So it's, it's an honor that they're going to, that they're there, man. I'm just, I'm beyond happy that that that's happening to them. It was super crazy because we had an interview. it was supposed to be with Andy first.
00:38:24
Speaker
Andy doesn't understand what yeah EST stands for when we say Eastern Standard Time. ah ah He was working, I think he was working a SoCal event.
00:38:36
Speaker
Is that right? Yes. um Trevor, Trevor said, Hey man, I'll step in. you know Originally, he was like, look, I can give you like 20, 30 minutes because i you know I was like, yeah, I totally understand just until we can get Andy if you're okay with it. And he was like, yeah, yeah, that's cool.
00:38:53
Speaker
Trevor comes on. He does a two-hour segment with us, right? We just talk about just the most random stuff, not knowing that this is coming, not knowing that there is about to be an induction into a Hall of Fame. And we talked about you know, it's going to be one of those questions I'm going ask you too. Like, what do you think your retirement match would be kind of thing? Right. And I asked Trevor that question and and Trevor was like, look, I'm, I'm retired because I can't do it anymore. i hurt my back and that really sucks.
00:39:27
Speaker
But i I said, look, if you could go back and you, you got one more match in you, what are you doing? You know? And he builds this elaborate thing and I'm just like, dude, wow. Wow.
00:39:37
Speaker
It's absolutely insane, you know? So ah going back just a couple of seconds ago, I said the same thing. Your retirement match. I know you're not there yet. I know you're not ready to retire yet. And we don't want to see you retire anytime soon. i think you still got a long time to go But when the time comes, who is going to, who do you want to put you out to pasture?
00:40:04
Speaker
um Well, I i wish I, you know, I honestly, i I wish it was anchors away. You know, I wish I i could go out in ah in a tag match with them. I really wish that that would be my last match, you know, and unfortunately I don't, I don't think that that would happen. You know, Trevor is, you know, he's, he is hurt and um you know, he's he's got a, he's got a good family and you know, he's, he's a loving dad and I don't, I wouldn't want to, you know, jeopardize his health or in any reason or anything like that. And the same thing with Andy, you know, Andy's got, you know, he's got amazing and wonderful kids and he's an awesome father.
00:40:38
Speaker
Um, but I, I mean, uh, if I could, if I could wish, I really wish it would have been anchors away, you know, honestly, um you know, I, uh, I probably, i'd probably have to say, cool man. Um,
00:40:57
Speaker
it, it, I, it either would have to be famous B or
00:41:07
Speaker
either Famous B B-Boy. um I would have to so pick one of one of those two. And then the only reason I'm picking those two is because, ah you know, B-Boy was, um he was a pivotal part of my my training, my initial training. You know, he was, and he was already a big name out here when I started. And he had a, you know, he he came in and had helped me out with a lot of lot lot of stuff that I had issues with as far as like my bumping and rollings and all that. So he took the time and he helped me out.
00:41:36
Speaker
um And with Famous B, he just, you know, it was just, ah I've always had amazing chemistry with with him. And we've always complimented each other so well, so well. You know, there's, ah you know, not everybody can have the perfect match, you know. There's always going to be some kind of hiccups that happens.
00:41:59
Speaker
But me and Famous B probably had If not the perfect match, very, very, very close to the perfect match with each other. you know So it'd probably be one of those two guys.
00:42:14
Speaker
Very cool. Yeah, because you know you've got a great match when nobody's getting hurt. The spots that are getting called are getting – they're landing, right? So, I mean – I don't know.
00:42:27
Speaker
I ah like literally did it for couple of days, but I really like, that's what I miss about. That's what I miss about being in the ring is just having somebody call that spot and me just going, yep, this is what we're doing. Bam.
00:42:43
Speaker
Next. what would it What's next? What are we doing now? You know, um I was never the guy that was ever going to call a match. I was never that person. um When you call a match, how,
00:42:57
Speaker
how quick are you to do that? Are you the one that's calling it or do you let the opponent call the match? No, no. I honestly, I always let the opponent call the match. Um, just because i don't, uh, I rather, i rather cater to them than them cater to me, you know? So I always, uh, I always let them, you know, plan it out and I always let them, you know, whatever it is that they want to do. And I'll just insert my stuff whenever I can. You know, I, uh, um, You know, one of my trainers who goes by the name of Pandillero out here in ah in in San Diego or in Tijuana, actually, here he always taught me that. He always, you know, one of the one of my one of the teachings that he said to me was, um you know, let them let them put the match together. You compliment them Don't let them compliment you.
00:43:46
Speaker
And so I always took that to heart. So every time I plan a match or I talk to somebody about it, I always let them, you know, do... you know I literally let them plan whatever they want, whatever they want, and then I'll start filling in my stuff whenever wherever I can. you know and i i think that helps in two ways. One, it it it eases both of you.
00:44:08
Speaker
you know like it like you know like you could ah you could You can go to a promotion or somewhere and you've never met this fellow or this or this girl that you're working that night you know before, but I feel like if you if you give yourself, if you give them that,
00:44:23
Speaker
that that respect, it it it's like, it's it's it'll ease both of you, you know, because not now one person is dictating what another person is going to do, you know.
00:44:34
Speaker
um And, um you know, the second part is it's it's i always I always think that my opponent knows the the crowd better than I do. So I always...
00:44:47
Speaker
You know, I always let them steer me in any direction that they that they need me. You know, i like to think of myself more as a backup player than anything else. Not so much as the main the main guy in the match, even though it's just us two in the match. Um, you know, I always like to back them up with, with whatever. So, I mean, it's, uh, so that's, that's how I like to, to, you know, to, to get match matches, uh, put together. i don't, uh, I never dictate. I just, you know, I, I lay back and and let them, let them, let them, yeah.
00:45:19
Speaker
Yeah. I just let let them do whatever it is that they want to do. And I'll just insert my two cents where I can. Right on. Yeah. Back in the day, it used to be the heels that would dictate the match. Yeah, yeah. and You know, that's another lesson that I learned, you know, from, ah from Pandiero. He's an old school luchador from Tijuana. So, you know, he, he always, he always told me that too. He's like, look, man, you're you're you're probably always going to be a a baby face.
00:45:45
Speaker
You know, I don't see you turning into a heel. So, you know, let, let let everybody else, you know, ah put the match together and you just put in your two cents. That was actually going to be one of my questions for you. So Cal, uh, face or heel, if you got to choose what you want it to be, what were you choosing? Oh, face.
00:46:06
Speaker
I, um, I tried being a heel once, uh, and it just, I just, I wasn't comfortable with it. You know, I, I, I never found myself in that role. Um, I did what I needed to do. i put over who I needed to put over and, you know, we worked whatever angle we needed to work, but I was just never comfortable with it. And I just, I didn't, uh, I just couldn't, I just, it it just wasn't me, you know, it wasn't me. So to me, honestly, I, I, I prefer being the face.
00:46:35
Speaker
Um, I love being the face. I love, you know, I love the positivity of, uh, the fan interaction. i' love, you know, I, you know, I love, uh, of giving high fives, I love, you know, anything like that, you know, so it's just, ah i don't know, it just, did do it gives me more confidence being a face than a heel, um you know, it just, it does, and I don't, uh,
00:47:00
Speaker
I don't know why. really don't know why. You've done it great for 20 years. Don't change it. Don't change it. love to be heel. There's always somebody out there that's going to be like, well, he's done it.
00:47:11
Speaker
He's been a face for so long. It's time for him to turn. Don't do it. Yeah, they've always done that. you know they They think somebody should be a heel, and you know they try to turn them heel, but it just doesn't go right.
00:47:24
Speaker
yeah no what it does it I mean, when, when I turned, uh, you know, when I had the opportunity to do the heel, uh, gimmick for a while, it I mean, it got, it got over because it wasn't, you know, people didn't expect that, you know, but I just personally, I just didn't feel, i just didn't feel it, you know?
00:47:44
Speaker
And, um, it was, uh, um, one of the things that i hated about being a heel is that I couldn't, I couldn't exit the building until everybody left.
00:47:55
Speaker
You know, and then to me, like, I remember when I was growing up and watching wrestling and when I would go see wrestling live shows, you know, I was a little kid that was always waiting for wrestlers to come out to get autographs or pictures or anything like that.
00:48:10
Speaker
And so for me to not be able to do that to to to fans that are you know waiting for me or waiting for whoever comes out, you know it was just like it just didn't click with me, man. i was just like, no, man, a god cat I can't do this. Yeah, I've heard i've heard damn i've heard a bunch of horror stories on heels on what's happened to them, especially over in other countries. you know you If you get over and you're a good heel, and your life can be on the line in some countries.
00:48:40
Speaker
Yeah, especially in Tijuana. You know, I remember doing a show in Tijuana and ah I was I was actually the baby face. But because i was considered a foreigner coming from the States to to Mexico, you know, they immediately, you know, I immediately got all the boos and then whatnot, even though I was portraying a face.
00:49:02
Speaker
ah But I remember exiting Tijuana. ah you know, going to my car, I was carpooling, I believe with two other wrestlers at the time. And I remember we got to our car and there was just like, like spit world was on our car and just eggs. And they they just, you know, they just, they didn't destroy the car, but it wasn't, it was, it was a pretty bad scene.
00:49:26
Speaker
So it was, a yeah. So um definitely not, man. Definitely. That's, that's definitely not for me. Yeah. what is your everyday cover outside of the persona of SoCal crazy?
00:49:42
Speaker
What do you do? Um, well, let's see. I, uh, I love, I love carpentry. Um, I've, uh, you know I had, ah um, I have an uncle who, who owned a construction company. So well he, he basically taught me carpentry one-on-one.
00:50:00
Speaker
Um, I love building things. I love fixing things. I, um, you know, like, um, I love, uh, I love putting houses together. um so outside of wrestling that, that would be, that's, that's probably my next passion is just building, building things. You know, it's just, uh, something that I love doing. Um, you know, I, uh, I've been lucky enough to, to, you know, when, when I had some downtime in wrestling, I've, I've been lucky enough to help, you know, friends build houses or or room extensions or, you know, stuff like that. So it's,
00:50:33
Speaker
So that's, that's always been a big, another big passion of mine is just been building stuff, man. I don't think that's me. I, I, I, I don't know. I can't.
00:50:44
Speaker
Yeah. I, I build stuff that goes like this. and No, that's, that's awesome though. That's awesome that that's what you like to do. I mean, uh, have you thought about doing, or have you done like Habitat for for Humanity?
00:50:58
Speaker
Have you done one of those? Yeah. Um, actually, uh, uh, it's funny you brought that up cause I was just talking to to a friend of mine about this a couple weeks ago. And, um, um, I, I remember a few years ago,
00:51:11
Speaker
i ah I actually applied for, for, for Habitat of Humanity. Uh, but I've never, I never got a call back or anything like that. so I was like, okay, maybe, maybe, uh, maybe next time. And I just never followed through with it, but that's definitely something that I would love to do. I actually would love to go to, uh, to my home state of Mexico city and, um, and try and try to build you know houses or stuff down there if I have the opportunity. you know um so That's definitely on my bucket list. I would would definitely love to to help you know ah work for that organization at least once you know once in my life.
00:51:49
Speaker
well We're putting it out there, everybody. SoCal said he's in. If you guys want to build a house, if you know somebody that works Habitat for Humanity, get a hold of him. He will absolutely come and Yes, please. Are you going to wear the mask?
00:52:06
Speaker
I will wear the mask. I will wear the mask. Holy crap. Mark's got a bunch of questions here, I think. Hang on. sp Yeah, I got one. Well, okay. um You just came back SoCal because you were sick.
00:52:20
Speaker
I'm not going to have you you know tell people why you were sick or anything else. um What was the reaction when you came back? What was the crowd reaction when they first came back? i was pray hey are Yeah, it was, it was great. They, uh, they, they, you know, they welcomed me back with open arms. Um, I, uh, I didn't expect it.
00:52:42
Speaker
Um, i mean, I knew, i knew maybe I was going to get a cheer here and there, but it was just the, uh, you know, seeing everybody was, you know, like, like seeing everybody just stand when I came out and clap. And then as I was walking towards the ring, having people just, you know, give me hugs and stuff. It was, it was crazy, man. It was, it was very emotional for me.
00:53:04
Speaker
um i ah you know, I replay it in my head every night. You know, I really do. it's you know Like I said, you know, to me, SoCal Pro has always been my home, um you know, and for me to be, ah you know, to to get a, to get a second chance and then come back and, and,
00:53:21
Speaker
and just hear that crowd's reaction. And then, you know, uh, when I was able to, you know, have some mic time and talk on the mic and let them know exactly what was happening, where I've been, and you know, what's going on. And, you know, the little, the, the, the outbursts that I would get and, and, uh, they know the reactions and stuff. It was just, it was, it was great, man. It was awesome.
00:53:41
Speaker
It was me amazing. you know, I, I, I can't, uh, i just I love that crowd. I love that crowd, and I'm i'm so thankful that that they were able to open their arms and hearts to me again.
00:53:55
Speaker
I was going to ask, ah and this might be a little ludicrous or a little sideways, but was that show, when you came back, it was You Can't Kill Crazy.
00:54:07
Speaker
That was the show you came back, is that right Yeah, yeah, that was it, yeah. Was it named after you? Was it because... You can't kill SoCal crazy.
00:54:19
Speaker
Um, I, I, you know what, I guess I actually had no idea that day that, that, that it was even called that it wasn't until i actually, i was texting with Trevor and Trevor was like, Hey man, I love the name of the, of the next show.
00:54:34
Speaker
And I was like, okay, well, what what's it called? And he's like, you can't kill crazy. So I was like, oh, okay. That sounds really cool. rich badass wasn't even aware that it was named that until Trevor told me, you know. um So, um yeah, it was, oh man, it it just blew me away. You know, I you ah i immediately, um um honestly, you know, like if I'm telling the truth here, as soon as i he told me that, I immediately started crying because it was, you know, um yeah just I guess a little background, you know, i yeah i you know the reason I was absent from
00:55:07
Speaker
from SoCal Pro was I was battling stage four colon cancer. I eventually, uh, you know, I was able to beat it. And so just to, to have Jeff, you know, uh, name that show that, and then, you know, it was just, uh, don't know. It was just, it was just so awesome. You know, it's so awesome. And I, I just, uh, it was speechless, man. I was just, uh, I was crying and that was just very, very emotional. You know, when, when I heard that, you know, cause it's, it's, uh,
00:55:35
Speaker
cause it was the truth, you know, I mean, I, I, there was times when, when I was battling that cancer that I was told, you know, you might not make it out of here, buddy. And so it's, you know, just, just to have the doctors come and tell you that, you know, it's like, Oh man, like really, like I haven't done everything that I wanted to do. Like I, there's still a lot more than I want to do. And, you know, and then, uh, you know, having that, having that show being named, that was just, Oh man, it was like, uh, it was just like,
00:56:05
Speaker
I don't know. It was great because when I saw it, it was your comeback show. And I was just like, dude, this is, I loved it. I love that they named it that. So shout out kudos, kudos to Jeff, man, because i don't know if he got any input from anybody that said, Hey, you know, South SoCal is coming back on this day. Let's let's name. I think that Jeff did his thing, man. I think that he really put it down and he was like, you know what? That's my boy.
00:56:34
Speaker
going to put it out there. you know? Yeah. And, you know, I, I owe Jeff a lot, man. He's, you know, I've known him for man over 20 years, I think, you know, and, uh, he's, he's again, he he's in the same category as, uh, Andy and Trevor. i mean, those three guys I would do, i would do absolutely anything for those three guys, you know, there's consider them my family. So, you know, for him to do that is just, it was very overwhelming, man. It was just something that I never thought that I, like, um, I,
00:57:04
Speaker
never thought that that would, you know, experience something like that, honestly, you know, and and it's crazy because i've I've had shows where, you know, I've been involved in shows where I've been absent for a few months and stuff and I came back and I've gotten good reactions and stuff, but this one was particularly more personal because you know, it was, it was home and it was, it was, it was one it of my family that's, you know, that, that, that was inviting me back home. So it was, it was, it was very good, man. It was a very good night.
00:57:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I watched ah i watched a young man named Judez go to town. How do you feel about this young man? This this guy is, he's amazing. Oh, man, I can't see. Oh, he's great. He's he's absolutely great. he's he is a star. I mean, the guy is ridiculous, like what he does in the ring.
00:57:55
Speaker
i don't know if it's his ring presence that he has, SoCal, or if if he's able to just – I don't know what it is. I don't know where that chemistry is, but, like, I want to watch a match with Jude is. and I'm like, oh, my God, dude, this is fucking crazy.
00:58:12
Speaker
yeah he he yeah He gets it. he He's definitely on a whole new level now. you know i ah I remember when he was first starting out and at the SoCal Pro School. and Even then, he he was absorbing everything like a sponge. like Everything we were teaching him and everything that we were... you know, trying trying to, ah you know, um have him work on and everything. Just, he just picked everything up so well and so good. And, and now seeing him now, it was, he's just amazing. He's an amazing worker, man. He's, ah I'm so proud. i'm so I'm extremely proud of where he's been and where he's going to go. Cause I mean,
00:58:51
Speaker
doors are just now opening for him you know really they really are even though he you know he's been working for for a few years now i believe that his his doors are just now opening because people are now starting to see you know what kind of worker judy is and uh i couldn't be more happier for him honestly man i just uh i can't wait to see what the future holds for him and i know it's going to be a lot of awesome a lot of awesome opportunities Let me ask you this. you do You do a lot of the training with these guys.
00:59:22
Speaker
Who's the hardest one? Who's the knucklehead? you have one in the classroom? Do you got one in the ring that you just want to be like, I'm going to smack this kid right in the back of the head? um my Oh, man. there's ah There's been a few.
00:59:36
Speaker
There's been a few that have come through our doors that ah that have been like that. you know um Luckily, though, I believe – their experience in working with other companies or other talent actually has has calmed them down.
00:59:52
Speaker
um I do remember there was one kid whom i don't I don't really remember the name or his name, but there was one kid that that came in And the first day he, he wanted to learn, uh, he wanted to learn hurricananas and, and 450 splashes and stuff like that.
01:00:10
Speaker
Exactly. Like I was when I first started, you know, exactly like I was, you know, ah but unfortunately with me, nobody, nobody sat me down and told me, Hey, you know what? You need to learn how to do this, this, this first before you move on to that, you know? And, um, unfortunately this kid, uh, uh,
01:00:29
Speaker
he He wouldn't take no for an answer. And he ended up, I think, just being with us for about a month or so. And he got fed up with just learning the basics and ended up leaving. And honestly, I don't i don't don't know what happened to him. I don't know where he's at.
01:00:45
Speaker
Hopefully he's doing good. Hopefully he's still wrestling somewhere. don't think it me though, right? It wasn't me. No, no, no. No, no, no, no. And But yeah, that's, uh, but as far as like workers, like working, working right now, um I don't, I don't think there's ever been anybody like that. As far as, at least with me, um you know, the only, uh, I guess the only, the only person who, who would be close to that, but he was still a very good kid. He still is. He's still a good kid. And, and, uh, he's, he's an amazing worker would be, uh, Danny Limelight. um you know he uh i remember when he when he first started with us he was he was a very eager kid as well wanted to learn everything and then like like everybody you know like i like everybody and i wish i wish i could have uh taught him everything he wanted to do you know uh but he's he's you know he's um he's grown up and he's he's an amazing champion now and he's an amazing world traveler now and he's doing his thing and
01:01:48
Speaker
you know I'm very, very extremely proud of where he's you know where where he began and where he what he's doing now. you know um But um as far as that like like somebody like that's hard-headed like that, i't i I don't really know. Other than the kid that I mentioned beforehand.
01:02:05
Speaker
and And, you know, I think that I think that you did. i mean, you touched on all that and you you hit the nail on the head because you said everybody wants to come in and they you got that certain select group that I want to do everything and I want to do it all right now.
01:02:20
Speaker
And I feel like I was the same way. I mean, I came in. i remember. I refed couple of matches. Then I wanted to do the bumps. I was in. i was like, let's do it. I'm going to hurt myself.
01:02:32
Speaker
But I was the guy that I was like, you know what? I want to do a backflip off the top rope. And he was like, you're crazy. You're not going to do a backflip off the top rope. And then he was like, fine. So we did it in practice a couple of times. He's like, you're never doing that in the ring. You're going to break your knees.
01:02:47
Speaker
You know? Yeah. But the there's something inside of us as the people that we grew up in and the people that we were in that ring or are in that ring.
01:02:58
Speaker
Because I'm going to tell you right now, if if somebody said, hey, I'm going to put you through a table, I'm going to, where where's the table at? And I don't know why. i don't know why. Like, I know it's going to hurt.
01:03:10
Speaker
But I know it's going to feel so good that that adrenaline is going to pump through your body. It doesn't matter how bad it hurts until you go home. Yeah, I don't know. it's just I guess it's the wrestling bug. you know what you're gay once you get ah Once you get bit by that bug, man, it's just so hard to stay away.
01:03:26
Speaker
it really is. you know um yeah i remember when when ah when I was in the hospital and the doctor came up to me and you know instead of me asking, you know you know is is the cancer gone? Am I going to be able to live a normal life?
01:03:40
Speaker
and my my first My first question to him was like, hey, will I be able to wrestle again? so you know It's just something that's... Yeah, you're right. It's just like Something that you can't shake out of your head once you get bit by that bug, man.
01:03:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. and I mean, I haven't been in a ring in a long time, but I, you know, Mark, Mark wants to get into a ring. Mark hasn't been able to experience a lot of, I don't know, a lot of different things. and Well, I think I can't do it the way I want to you now. So, it would be you know, I still want step in i want to get you in a ring.
01:04:14
Speaker
I want to get into a ring just to be, but I can't do the stuff I would want to. See, Brian is one, you know, he he wanted to, you know, go fast into this. I'd be one sitting back watching just to learn it, just to, ah you know, make sure I'm doing it right. Fast and furious, baby.
01:04:30
Speaker
Listen, Trevor will tell you. He'll tell you, man. I'm telling you, Trevor would tell me to slow down. And I couldn't. The adrenaline's up. My head's spinning. Like, we got so much going on. And that's and that's why I think that i wasn't i wasn't great and I wasn't where I needed to be to be in the ring. And that's why, you know, hey, listen. Well, you go too fast, you're going to hurt somebody.
01:04:53
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And that that was never the case. Like, I never wanted to hurt anybody, you know? So... Yeah, that's true. mean, that's your number one job is to make sure that you walk in and you walk out, you know Absolutely. And the guy and the guy that you're in the ring with is the same way. You got to make sure he walks in and walks out. You know, you don't want, you don't want to be the guy that has to walk next to the stretcher and be like, man, I am so sorry.
01:05:18
Speaker
Right. Exactly. Yeah. that You know, um Mark, do you have a match on Saturday? um I actually, not this Saturday. No, I don't i don't have a match, but I will be, I believe myself and Matt Thrash are actually going to be the ones inducting anchors away into the Hall of Fame.
01:05:43
Speaker
So um I'm very um you know looking forward to that. I'm excited. I'm extremely excited to to to have that honor to do that. ah I myself actually won't be in the ring until April 23rd.
01:05:55
Speaker
That's actually my my return match for a one ring circus here in San Diego. Okay. We're going to be on whatcha what channel is that Mark? us SoCal pro wrestling.
01:06:11
Speaker
It will be on, it'll be on, I believe SoCal wrestling TV, right? Yes. Yes. yeah I had to remember, but yeah, it'll be on the app. Um,
01:06:22
Speaker
And then it'll be, I believe that they're streaming it. I'm not sure yet on YouTube, but we're going to sit here and watch it together on Saturday to watch Anchors Away.
01:06:32
Speaker
And while we're doing the cheap plug for that, Anchors Away will be on our show next Tuesday.
01:06:41
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. so So we had a little question we wanted to ask you. you know I think going let Mark ask you this one. Um, well, they're not watching anyway, so it doesn't matter. Of course. Um, we're, um, we're going to surprise, um, uh, anchors away while they're talking to us with people coming in.
01:07:03
Speaker
Um, well one so far and that's Matt. Um, would you like to be a part of it? Absolutely. Absolutely. I'll send you the, I'll send you this, um, the thing earlier in the day.
01:07:17
Speaker
Um, I think we need to, uh, I don't know if we can get ahold of anybody else over at ah and you have the connections for this and we'll leave that up to you. If you want to see if, uh, if any of those guys, if they want to, we'll some yeah send, send the link to you and you can share it if you'd like, but that's, we're just trying to, you know, give these guys their, you know, their deal.
01:07:41
Speaker
Yeah. Um, it sucks that we don't get to watch them wrestle again because I totally. Yeah. And a lot of their stuff, you know It was pre where everybody was recording everything. so Yeah.
01:07:56
Speaker
Yeah, I really wish. i wish they had um I wish they could do it one more time, honestly. um i think I think that there is a lot of people out there. I kind of just want Andy to do some some mic work, man, because... oh he'll be You know him. You're going to get him in the middle of that ring. You're telling him he's in the Hall of Fame. He's going to spiel off some some stuff, and it's going to be awesome.
01:08:20
Speaker
Yeah. think think you know I think he's got a really good mic presence, man. I think it would be awesome if somebody came in like Mr. Impressive, right? Or is that how you say his name? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're talking about the the guy with the... yeah, yeah. The wrestler. Yeah, I know talking about him. It'd be funny if he came in and started something with him during the Hall of Fame and they beat him up or something like that. Yeah, that would be cool. They did something, man. like I honestly miss...
01:08:49
Speaker
I miss seeing them in the ring and in everything that they they they can do, man. because i mean Honestly, Anchors Away was by far one of the best tag teams out here in Southern California. like seriously like and I'm not just saying that obviously because they're close friends of mine, but you know even if i wasn't ah if I wasn't in the wrestling business, if I was just a fan you know and and and I saw them work, like they were tremendous. in the you know they were They were probably the most enjoyable heel tag team of their time.
01:09:22
Speaker
Yeah, because they were comical at at the same time. it was, you know, they, they were the bad guys, but they were funny as well. Yeah. so you're like, no Oh shit. That's fine. Yeah. Yeah. There was a, there was a lot of times where I was able to, was blessed enough to work with them and you know, I, I, it was hard for me to, to have a straight face, you know?
01:09:41
Speaker
So I was very lucky that I had a mask on. Cause if not, I mean, I'd be laughing the entire time. Yeah. um So, Cal, what has been in your driving force to keep you in wrestling?
01:09:54
Speaker
I mean, after everything you've been through, you can you could have hung the boots up a while ago. What has been the driving force? um Honestly, id it has to be – it's two things. it's it's it's It's the friendships that I've developed throughout the years and in wrestling. um You know, like, ah ah you know, everybody – you know I always say this. you know Anybody can have money and fancy cars or or a big contract or whatever, but not everybody has friends in the business. you know so um that's
01:10:27
Speaker
i love i love so I love going to shows or being booked at shows whatever um and seeing friends. I love hanging out with them. i love you know talking wrestling with them. i love catching up with them.
01:10:39
Speaker
um That's, you know, they it's it's part of you. You know, 20 years, you invest 20 years in a certain business and and you develop friendships in that particular business. You're going to want to see those people as often as you can, you know. So there's definitely one That's one of the driving force. But I would say the second one would have fan interactions. I love, you know, hugging those little kids, getting the autographs, you know, taking pictures with them.
01:11:07
Speaker
um you know, shaking the mom and dad's hand, knowing that the mom and dad, you know, sacrificed a Saturday, Saturday of work to bring their kids out to to see you wrestle. I mean, that's amazing feeling, you know, ah because that my mom was the same way, you know, she would, you know, she would sacrifice, you know, whatever day she would to take me and my brother to go see some matches or me and my cousins or whatever. you know,
01:11:29
Speaker
So just t to be on the other side of that is is is a very cool, you know, that's that's a very cool driving force. Honestly, that keeps me going. Yeah. Very cool.
01:11:42
Speaker
Mark? ah You kept this man on
Appreciation for Fans and Independent Wrestling
01:11:46
Speaker
here for an hour. Are you going to give him his time or?
01:11:50
Speaker
Yeah, that that's good. Well, SoCal, is there anything else that you want to talk about, sir? Um, no, I mean, other than, you know, just, you know, thank you guys. Thank you guys for this, uh, for having this, uh, podcast and for, uh, showcasing, you know, not only Southern California talent, but I'm sure, you know, talent all over the nation, you know, ah you know, uh, independent wrestling is, is, is an awesome avenue for, for a lot of workers. And, you know, thank you guys. It's, you know, it's guys like you guys that, that help us, you know, helps the scene out, helps us, helps the fans, you know, connect with everybody, you know, everybody just connecting.
01:12:30
Speaker
So honestly, just thank you guys. Thank you for this opportunity. Uh, you know, uh, I do want to say, you know, whoever, uh, you know, uh, watches this, you know, to any fan watching this, thank you. Thank you for supporting, you know, not only myself, but every single worker in, in the United States, you know, thank you for, for helping us keep independent wrestling alive. Thank you for keeping even the big guys, you know, your WWE is your impacts, your AEW is keeping, just keeping wrestling alive in general.
01:13:00
Speaker
Uh, thank you guys. Thank you. You know, like, uh, you know, we, you know, we're absolutely nothing without, without you fans. So honestly, from, from the bottom of my heart, you know, thank you so much for, for, for taking the time and just seeing, seeing, you know, seeing me work.
01:13:18
Speaker
No, we really appreciate you coming on and and talking about your, that you know, your, the work that you've done, the struggles you've been through. Oh, I know what I wanted to ask you.
01:13:30
Speaker
Oh, shit. there's There's just one, one, one quick thing. Friend of mine, Rotten Ronnie. Yes. Got bladed by you. Just split them open.
01:13:45
Speaker
Yeah. Was it an accident or were it were did you tell him, hey, listen, it's going to hurt a little bit? We talked about that on interview, so I had to ask.
01:13:56
Speaker
ah Yeah. Oh, man. If I remember correctly, I believe we were both involved in a cage match. And um i don't I don't remember if he asked me to to to do it for him or honestly don't remember how the whole setup went. But i do remember we were in the cage and it came the spot where I think I i threw him to the cage and and that had to happen. And, um yeah, I remember I just remember getting well, doing doing the the deal ah for him.
01:14:34
Speaker
Uh, but I don't, I don't remember if it went deep or not. Yeah. Um, it's just, uh, it's just, it was funny. It was, it was just a funny, funny experience with thrash and thrash is another amazing guy, man. Like he's, he's another guy who I wish, uh, I wish was still actively wrestling, you know, but, um, again, he's another guy who, who I've been in the ring with, and it's so hard to keep a straight face with. Cause he's just,
01:15:03
Speaker
He's just in a very he's very animated. He's extremely animated when he's out there. you know and and like Honestly, crashsh Thrash would have made a million dollars if he was in the 1980s as a wrestler. like he He fits the bill. He would have been on top of the world in that era. Vince would have hired and fired them six times already.
01:15:26
Speaker
yeah yeah Yeah. He came on here. He wasn't even in here. What's 10 minutes and he he was already telling us that, or Brian, that he was going to take ah Brian's mom out for a steak dinner and leave her hanging with the bill and all that. It was fun. you know how he is. Yeah. that was He's an awesome guy, though, man. I love him. He is absolutely fantastic, man.
01:15:53
Speaker
um Everybody that we've mentioned here tonight is has got their head above shoulders, man. you Andy, Trevor, Rotten Ronnie. I mean, you guys are headed head above shoulders and we really do appreciate what you guys are doing. um Keep training these younger guys, man.
01:16:15
Speaker
um then we're going to find another we're going to find another good talent that's going to come out you know just like yourself i mean everybody when i moved to san diego told me about have you watched wrestling do you know who socal crazy is no i don't know who socal crazy is then i go to a show now i want to see socal socal gonna be here i go to wrestling show i'm like is socal gonna be here because i'm here to see socal that's who i'm here to see I mean, literally, I did. you know i was i was I was the hype guy.
01:16:48
Speaker
I wanted to come and see you. you know So it was it was a lot of fun. It was fun working with you. um For our fans, for our couple of viewers that we may have, where can they follow and find you?
01:17:02
Speaker
um So i I only have an Instagram. So if you go to SC Crazy on Instagram, I'm usually always that's the only platform that I'm on. I'm not really ah a Facebook guy. Actually, the funny thing with Facebook is I used to have a Facebook, but.
01:17:18
Speaker
A lot of people would start posting pictures with with me without my mask. And what I mean, pictures like people would be like my family would post pictures with me, you know, like just a regular, you know, with no mask.
01:17:31
Speaker
So I had to shut that down. i was like, no, well, that's going to kind of kill the illusion. I can't can't have that. um So, no, it's just Instagram. And plus I'm old school. I love i love the whole Instagram. And you can just take a picture and post it and then put the little remarks on the bottom. That's so easy to do.
01:17:48
Speaker
So um definitely, ah you know, anybody has any questions or anything like that or anything like that, just, you know, reach me at a SC crazy on Instagram, DM me. Well, you know, I'm ah more than happy to answer any questions or anything you guys have.
01:18:02
Speaker
Perfect. So you got a breakout star that's ready to get into wrestling and they live out there and, and saying in the San Diego area and they look you up one day. Hopefully it's from the show and they're like, well, you told me to. Hopefully. Yeah. Yeah. Well,
01:18:18
Speaker
We'll stir them in the right direction for sure. That is fantastic. So Cal, before we let you go, is there anything else you want
Colon Cancer Awareness and Wrestling Return
01:18:25
Speaker
to talk about? Anything you want to get off your chest? Anybody that you're going to go and whoop on after you?
01:18:32
Speaker
um No, I mean, just, ah you know, I'm just, ah oh well, there is one thing that I'd love to plug that if you guys ah give me a little time here is definitely, definitely, you know,
01:18:47
Speaker
you know, battling the colon, colon cancer, you know, it's, ah it's, it's definitely a silent killer. So, you know, um i know, you know, ah the average age to get screened or to get checked was 45. And unfortunately, now this, this cancer is is creeping up on younger people. So ah definitely,
01:19:09
Speaker
like that. But definitely if you get a chance, go get checked, go get screened. You know, it's very, very important. and It's a lot better to, to know than to not know, you know, like I, uh, I was extremely lucky that I actually, uh, that I, that they even found this, you know, in me. Um, I'm sure if I, uh, if I wouldn't have, you know, if I wouldn't have gotten checked, I probably wouldn't be here with you guys right now, honestly.
01:19:34
Speaker
So definitely if, you know, if you if you can and you have the resources, um please go, go get checked. You know, it's, it's very important, you know, male and female, very, very, very important. um Even if you don't have the resources and, and, and, you know, you want to, you you want some kind of information, you know, there's, there's a lot of, you know, colon cancer foundations and stuff like that that you can check out. If not again, shoot me a DM, you know, I literally studied this thing while I was going through it. So I kind of know,
01:20:05
Speaker
a lot about it, you know, so if you have any questions about that or anything like that, you know, I'm more than happy to help you out. um You know, if you happen to be at a show where I'm booked, um I'm going to have, you know, I now have a lot of colon cancer ah brochures and booklets and and resource guides and anything like that. So, you know, you're more than welcome to come and grab one because it's there's definitely something that you don't want Obviously nobody wants cancer, you know but this is unfortunately the silent killer is what they called it. So you know it's just it's it's up there with that, the you know the the widow maker heart attack deal. so And again, i'm not I'm not saying this to scare anybody or anything like that. I just you know don't want anybody to go through what I went through.
01:20:49
Speaker
Nope, I agree. i think I think getting checked now is gonna be more beneficial than finding out later, right? Definitely. The check now.
01:21:02
Speaker
Find a solution to the problem. Fix the problem. Right. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's ah it's like like you said it. You said it best, man. It's it's it's better to get a check now than than deal with the consequences later.
01:21:15
Speaker
um We will. I think, Mark, on our next show, we will put a we'll find a helpline. We'll find a helpline number and we will post that. on our screen so that we can get people to get checked um i think that uh what you did for the wrestling community and everything that you've gone through and for you to be able to come out and tell everybody that i think that that brings a lot of strength and a lot of courage and we do really ah really appreciate that so uh man i love you it's been real
01:21:51
Speaker
And, uh, we can't wait to see you. Uh, what's the date? What's the date? So Cal that you're going to step back in the ring. So I'll get back. My first official match would be April 23rd, uh, for one ring circus down in the San Diego. Um, I'm actually, uh, I believe I'm, I'm wrestling against, uh, uh, an extraordinary talent and Ruben Iglesias, um, out here in the West coast. So, uh, I'm very, I'm looking forward to it, you know, just, just, uh, not only just up in the ring with Ruben,
01:22:20
Speaker
But just to step in the ring, you step back in the ring, you know, after my after my two year absence. So, um you know, I'm ready. I like like my cardio is back. My bumping is good. I'm just i excited. i'm very excited to be back. And I just um I wish it was tomorrow. Honestly, i can't wait the butterflies are coming, baby. They're coming. They are. They are.
01:22:45
Speaker
All right, so Cal, we love you, man. Thank you for for coming on the show. We do appreciate you. Mark is going to send you that link for the 17th. Help me out here.
01:22:58
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's after the it's after the the it's after their induction. Right. And we'll get everybody together. And if you can think of anybody else that you want us to get on the show, shoot Mark a message, shoot me message. let me know.
01:23:15
Speaker
You have my phone number to shoot me a message. I definitely will, guys. And again, thank you guys so much here for this opportunity. Thank you. And we hope to get you back on the show here soon, probably after the match.
01:23:27
Speaker
Definitely. Yes, for sure. Perfect. Then we can talk about the match. Yeah, we need we need to get SoCal Pro Wrestling champion on here, I think. We need to try to work on that next.
01:23:39
Speaker
Good luck, Mark. I know. All right, SoCal, thank you so much again, man. we Thank you guys again. have a good night Have a good night. You too. You guys have a good night.
01:23:51
Speaker
Perfect.
01:23:54
Speaker
Mark, you got a great interview right there from my boy SoCal. One down or three, four. That's our fourth one down, a million to go. All right.
01:24:05
Speaker
yeah Big fan of SoCal, are you? I need to watch him wrestle a little bit more. yeah Great dude. Great dude, though. I mean, like listen, if you if you ever get a chance to meet him, anybody, if you ever get a chance to meet SoCal Crazy, go up. He loves hugs.
01:24:23
Speaker
Everybody hug him. ah he's He's super easy to get along with. He's one of those guys that's going to give you an autograph and and shake your hand and ask you what your name is. You know what I'm saying?
01:24:34
Speaker
so He's very friendly. Very, very friendly guy. That's why he's the face of the industry right now, man. He is... He is the face of SoCal Pro Wrestling. once he gets back in that Once he gets back in that ring, man, these guys have missed him forever.
01:24:51
Speaker
And I'm telling you right now, he's he's coming and he's he's it's shit's about to get real. Shit's about to get real. SoCal is back. Stand by.
01:25:03
Speaker
Oh, yeah. super excited that, uh, that he was here in, um, he is coming on the show for andy and Trevor. So if they were watching, sorry, we let the cat out of the bag, but, uh, shit happens.
01:25:19
Speaker
That was something that we really wanted to do. Um, Mark, do you have anything else? No. The only thing I have is, um, on Thursday we will have, um,
01:25:34
Speaker
psychic on our show called Artie or Art. And then of course, next Tuesday, we will have anchors away. We're going to have anchors away and we're going to have Ronnie and we're going to have SoCal.
01:25:53
Speaker
And if if you behave yourself, I might try to find us a couple of other guys that that I used to work with.
01:26:03
Speaker
Well, we'll see.
01:26:06
Speaker
Guys, from Mark from mark and i and the Deluxe Edition Network, we want to thank you for swinging in, watching the show. ah i don't know if it was very informative. We hope so.
01:26:17
Speaker
um Colon cancer, though, guys, go get checked. Men and women. It affects all of us. SoCal is one of my friends who went through it.
01:26:28
Speaker
I don't want to go through it. I don't want Mark to go through it. um So go get checked. have enough problems. i don't need more.
01:26:39
Speaker
Well, I guess we'll end it here. I guess so. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Talking Shit.
01:26:51
Speaker
I'm Mark. I'm Brian. And we're out of here.