I was about to begin writing this blog without coffee but then realized that it is absolutely essential and critical for the whole blogging process. For some reason, whenever I think about writing/typing, I vision myself on a keyboard with a steaming cup of coffee sitting nearby. We're out of Splenda, so I guess regular sugar will have to do.
It's Monday morning/almost afternoon, and the wife is still in bed. I just got done watching about 2 hrs of "Locked-up RAW" on MSNBC which was interesting to say the least. Dana and I are both thrilled to have the day off due to it being Memorial Day. Of course on the long weekend that we were blessed with, weather in Rancho Cucamonga is terrible. Well, okay, terrible might be overdoing it. However, it's a cool 61 degrees which is not exactly 'hanging out by the pool on our day off' type of weather.
Ahh, much better. I just poured myself a cup of my personal liquid cocaine and snatched my second chocolate chip cookie of the morning that Dana surprised me with last night. I love being married. Anyhow, its was quite a busy weekend. Friday night was the PWG DDT4 show, Saturday was Ellen's (Nicks girlfriend) college graduation party and yesterday was a turnaround trip to Vegas. Needless to say that I don't think I will be doing ANYTHING today, besides playing with my trash digging, bathtub diving cat Zeek and chilling with my better half.
Friday was tough. Because of card changes, the show was reshuffled so many times. We literally didn't know who we were working until we got to the venue. Nothing was really concrete. We had our first match against our great friends the Cutler Brothers who are proving themselves to everybody in SoCal that they are truly the next big team in the works. Because of a certain issue that I won't go into, we didn't get to really DO what we know that we can DO. Nevertheless, we were very proud of that match and feel like it was our best title defense of the three that we've had against Dustin and Brandon.
After the match, Nick and I had the honor of introducing our youngest brother Mal to his debut match at PWG. I was so proud to watch him come down that aisle. It's always been a dream to wrestle for a company that booked myself, my best friends and my two brothers -the whole clique! For those who don't know, Malachi was ran down by a car when he was younger while crossing the street on a bicycle. The car dragged Mal several feet and shattered his leg. His right tibia bone had a terrible compound fracture. He was bed ridden for a very long time and had to wear a giant external fixator to realign the bones in his leg. After months and months of infections, it looked like he would never be the same or even possibly lose his leg if the infection got any worse. We prayed hard and the infections eventually went away. Mal learned how to walk again after months of recovery in a wheel chair and on a walker. Nobody expected Mal to ever be the same. But now, at the age of only 18 years old, he's stunning crowds all around southern California and finally got to make his debut for the biggest company on the west coast. We are so proud of him. The scars on his leg impress me far more than the gig marks on the older wrestlers foreheads. He is a survivor and a miracle kid. Expect big things from our baby brother.
Our second match was against Chuck Taylor and Kenny Omega. These were two guys that we've been wanting to wrestle for a very long time. We knew that we would work well with Kenny because he comes from a similar background as us, and Chucky is very athletic, so we knew we could tear the house down for sure with these two. We'd love a re-match anytime. Our last match was against Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong. It was actually more like a fight, than a match. The fans seemed to love the violence and drama while my wife couldn't disagree any more as she sat in the crowd in absolute horror. =( We ended up winning the whole tournament which didn't seem to please the crowd on this particular night, but hey, you can't win em' all. Actually, in this case, you can! Because, we did win them all!
The next day, we spent at Ellen's parents place, celebrating her big grad day. Along with Dana, we met my parents, Nick and Ellen's friends and family and had a good time. Nick and I recounted the glory from the previous nights event and ate pizza while everyone tried to stay warm on what was a very chilly day.
Yesterday morning after a lovely McDonalds breakfast with the wife, I met the guys up in Victorville as we had a show to catch in Las Vegas. Hours later, we found our selves at an indoor swap meet. It felt like 5 years ago, and we were all back in Anaheim wrestling for WPW! It was a debut event for a new company called Future Stars of Wrestling. Although the building was scorching hot, we had a great time. Malachi wrestled Kenny King and Mike Modest while the Young Bucks/Cutler Brother Tour 2009 continued. Brandon had to be extra careful as he was cut at the eyebrow 2 nights prior at PWG. Nick did a moonsault dive to the outside and connected a hard right fist which busted Brandon open hard-way. Brandon was cut deep and needed 8 stitches to close the wound. We did a good job of not re-opening that cut. After a quick stop for dinner at Buffalo Bills at the state-line of California and Nevada, we were on our way home. I saw my wife at about 12:00 am at the door of our apartment who met me with a kiss. We hadn't been away from each other for very long but already missed each other dearly. My mom said it best in a text message after I told her that Dana and I already missed each other shortly after I walked out the door earlier that day, "How sweet. Nothing greater in life than the love of your life." It's so true.
I've got four days of regular living, and then Friday Nick and I will be headed back onto an airplane headed to Philadelphia for our debut at Ring of Honor.
Happy Memorial Day!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
interview with www.wearewrestling.net about DDT4
Here is an interview I did today courtesy of www.wearewrestling.net
Hope you like!
Hello Nick and Hello Matt, thanks a lot for your kindness and welcome to WeAreWrestling!
1-Can you introduce yourselves to our wrestling fans, and tell us the very beginning of the story of The Young Bucks?
My name is Matt and I will be speaking on behalf of my brother Nick also. I am 24 years old and my brother Nick is 19 years old. We'd been fans of professional wrestling since we were kids. I had my first pro-ring in my backyard at the age of 16, so I've been taking bumps for quite a while now. Finally, when I was around 18-19 years old, I decided to go to the Revolution Pro Wrestling School called Rudos Dojo near Los Angeles. I trained there for about two years under American Wild Child, Disco Machine, and Super Dragon among others. I trained with my good friend Dustin Cutler. Right after training, we would come home and show our brothers and other friends just what we learned in our very own ring. Eventually, my brother Nick came along for a few sessions, and before we knew it, we were wrestling at small non-wrestling events like veterans day parades, street fairs, etc. Soon after, we worked a few shows under masks and silly gimmicks for Revolution Pro. We liked being a part of these indy shows so much, we started our own company called High Risk Wrestling.... Sort of like our version of OMEGA. This is where we really learned our craft, as we ran at least twice a month. The Young Bucks were born soon after.
2-Why you two young brothers choose to enter in this business? And who is or who are the wrestlers who inspired you and your style?
It captured our imaginaion. All we ever did as kids was somehow included with wrestling whether we were watching it, talking about it, impersonating it with toys, sleeping with it (literally.... I had a WWF bed spread) or doing it our selves in the living room, (One time when I was about 12 years old, I hit a leg drop off the couch and fractured my youngest brothers arm) or the backyard. It was our lives. Right off the bat, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart and The Rockers were our biggest inspirations. And then later on in life, probably the Hardys, RVD and Chris Jericho. The Rockers, and Hardys have probably inspired our style in the ring the most though.
3-Your roots are in Southern California but now you spend a lot of time all around the world: when you start to move the first steps in your career, what are your expectations as a Tag Team?
We want to always put on the most exciting match of the night, love us or hate us. Our biggest expectations for our selves is giving the fans a show. No matter who else is on the card and no matter what else has happened on the show, we hope our stuff is remembered at the end of the night. One other expectation of ours is to stay healthy but to remain spectacular.
4-During the last few weeks we have seen you wrestle in Dragon Gate retaining the PWG World Tag Team Titles against Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa: how hard is the Japanese style? Was that your most difficult defense?
The Japanese style was very tough to adjust to at first. But we are now very used to it and actually prefer it over any other stlye that we have done - at this point. It can be very intimidating to wrestle the Dragon Gate guys because of how precise and quick they are... However, it makes you sooo much better being in the ring with guys like that. We owe so much to that group of men. Shingo and Tozawa were incredibly challenging, and were def one of our toughest defenses. I would rank it up there with our defense against the Motor City Machine Guns.
5-Talking about Dragon Gate and his USA new project, both of you are in the DG USA roster and the debut is set to 25th July in Philadelphia, one of the most charming city for wrestling. What are your feelings about this great promotion and his huge evolution?
We are just thrilled to be on board with such an amazing company. This is a huge opportunity for us, and we just feel blessed to be a part of this huge entity. I see big things for DGUSA which is only good for my brother and I!
6-All Star Weekend 6 was remembered well also for your great match against Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino: now in Dragon Gate with them in your same roster, there is a possibility for a rematch. How much The Bucks desire to revenge that defeat.
We feel like we've had sooo many better matches than the match we had with them at ASW 6. Nick and I were so nervous and were just exposed to Doi and Yoshinos style. Believe me, we tore down the house with those two MANY times in Japan. In my eyes, they're the best tag team on the planet. We would be absolutely honored to get into the ring with them again. Bucks vs Doi and Yoshino is always something to remember,
7-In the United States The Young Bucks has wrestled a lot of match, but I read about a recent bout against Scorpio Sky & Brandon Gatson that you love over the others: can you tell us something about it?
I wouldn't necessary say that I loved it more than anything we've ever done in the states, but I'd def rank that match up there pretty high. We were all just ON that night and we had the crowd when and where we wanted them. I think I enjoyed the match so much also because we were wrestling a very close friend in Scorpio Sky (which seems to be rare) and we were happy to be back wrestling on US soil. Maybe thats why I was so enthusiastic about that match? Nevertheless, it was a really good match-up that I am looking forward to watching and then hating it. (That's what happens every time I watch a match!) =(
8-Recently, you also fight in Chikara during the King of Trios teaming with El Generico, one of the most enthusiastic performer in this business: how is wrestle with him? And against him, like during the All Star Weekend 7?
Generico brings out the best in everyone. Nick and I told him at King of Trios that we believe that he is the best "spotty" (or what other term that should properly be used here) wrestler in North America. Many promoters called him their "guranteed match of the night." So, obviously working with him is a joy. We have a certain chemistry that we have with him that came out within minutes of working with him. Our styles just mesh well. All Star Weekend 7 is still one of our favorite matches ever. Despite the fact that Pac was sick that day and was literally puking his brains out underneath the ring apron the entire match, it still came out awesome!
9-To wrestle in one of the most important show in the independent scene like the Chikara KOT 2K9 is another big step for the Bucks, but the biggest event for you is near to come: the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Titles Tournament 2009! Can you explain your feelings when only 4 days divide us to the DDT4?
KOT was a joy to be a part of and has really opened up several doors for us. PWG DDT4 is arguably the biggest tag team tournament in independent wrestling, so we are obviously extremely excited to be a part of this. Oddly enough, this is finally our very FIRST time partcipating, so Nick and I both have butterflies. We also have a giant task ahead of us as we will be defending the PWG Tag Team belts throughout the whole tournament. Talk about pressure!! =/
10-In the First Round you will face Brandon & Dustin Cutler, two of your best friends outside the ring: in the last two bouts against the Cutler Bros, The Bucks reached two great Titles defense. Now things becomes harder, what are your expectations for this match?
We always put on something special with the Cutlers. We haven't wrestled anyone in the world as much as we have wrestled these two brothers. As I mentioned earlier, Dustin and I started training together the very first day I stepped foot in a wrestling school, so we've been through it all. And Brandon is one of the guys that we taught. The four of us have traveled together, trained together, dined together, wrestled together and slept togeth--- wait a minute! Anyhow, this match shall def be a 10-12 minute highlight reel. (With all of the Cutlers moves edited out of course)
11-The other First Round match in your side of this One Night Tournament involving Chuck Taylor, the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Chikara KOT 2009: what do you think about him and his style? Can he with Kenny Omega be the underdog in the tournament or Los Luchas can advance due to their experience?
We've got our eyes on Chuck and Omega. I think they might be the dark horses in this one. Los Luchas are a very experienced team but for some reason, I've got a gut feeling that we'll be moving on to the second round and wrestling Mr. Taylor and Mr. Omega. I think that these two have very unique styles. Taylor likes to use invisible grenades, while Omega impersonates Ryu from Street Fighter. That's a very weird team now that I am thinking about it. Bring on the Luchas.
12-The other side involve the recently born Hybrid Dolphins of Paul London & Bryan Danielson, against an evergreen like The Dinasty of Scott Lost & Joey Ryan. Also, we are going to see Motor City Machine Guns against Roderick Strong & the PWG World Champion Chris Hero. Can you make for us a preview of these two bouts?
These two matches shall be very exciting and will probably be a little different than our match with the Cutlers and OMEGA and Taylors match with the Luchas. We're personally going to wait for the DVD to come out to watch the MCMG and Hero and Roddy. That match sounds like fun... Maybe because Nick and my favorite team in the world right now, the Guns are in it! No matter who comes out on this side, Nick and I are going to have our hands full... Especially if we end up having to wrestle the Dolphins! I might have a hard time keeping a straight face. Have you seen that promo on Youtube! Of course you have! You probably ordered the shirt you mark!
13-Reading the participants of DDT4 2009, you already beat 4 of them(retaining titles against the Guns and the Cutler Brothers, and in non-title matches against Los Luchas and The Dinasty). For you, this one day walkway to success can be great like the past 8 months since you gain the PWG World Tag Team Titles beating The Age of the Fall?
It's going to be a tough night to say the least. We've obviously got bulls-eye targets on our chests. Everyones going to be a lot hungrier when they're in the ring with us because of the simple fact that the belts are on the line throughout the tournament. Nick said it best when he said, "if we come out of this thing alive, and with the belts, we might be called the greatest PWG Tag Team champs of all time."
14-One more thing about the DDT4: on May 22nd you reach 264 days of reign, only 9 fewer than The Arrogance who retain the Titles for 273 days in 2004. The final achievement for The Bucks is to climb the highest stair of PWG Tag Team Division? And what do you think about a dream showdown against Scott Lost & Photogenic Chris Bosh in the very near future, to determine the most dominant Tag Team in the history of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla?
We've kept count on the number of days that we've held the belts - so it's always on our minds. When we first won the belts we stated in a post match promo that our goal was to become the greatest PWG champs of all time. I think, if we pass the record that Arrogance holds, we will gain just that. Our debuting match in PWG was against Arrogance, which we lost. We'd love to avenge that initial defeat someday.
15-In Italy we say “there is no 2 without 3”, so how high are the possibilities to see the third European Vacation? And there is a chance to see finally Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in Italy, maybe my biggest dream?
Unfortunately, it is unlikely for PWG to come back to Europe because of past issues from the second trip. As for Italy, I haven't heard anything in the works. However, keep your eyes open, as the Young Bucks just might be headed to Europe... soon actually!
16-The last question: what can you tell us about Malachi Jackson?
He's the future of wrestling. I believe that we have the potential to be one of the next great families in this business. I like to think of us as the new Von Erichs, hopefully without all of the tradegy.
Thanks a lot Matt & Nick, I know that I ask you a lot of things, and you must know that maybe I could go on more and more! We're very proud to read your words here on WeAreWrestling and I hope to know your beliefs on the last days of July after the debut in Dragon Gate USA! See you soon guys, hopefully in Italy!
No problem. Thanks for all of the support. God bless
Hope you like!
Hello Nick and Hello Matt, thanks a lot for your kindness and welcome to WeAreWrestling!
1-Can you introduce yourselves to our wrestling fans, and tell us the very beginning of the story of The Young Bucks?
My name is Matt and I will be speaking on behalf of my brother Nick also. I am 24 years old and my brother Nick is 19 years old. We'd been fans of professional wrestling since we were kids. I had my first pro-ring in my backyard at the age of 16, so I've been taking bumps for quite a while now. Finally, when I was around 18-19 years old, I decided to go to the Revolution Pro Wrestling School called Rudos Dojo near Los Angeles. I trained there for about two years under American Wild Child, Disco Machine, and Super Dragon among others. I trained with my good friend Dustin Cutler. Right after training, we would come home and show our brothers and other friends just what we learned in our very own ring. Eventually, my brother Nick came along for a few sessions, and before we knew it, we were wrestling at small non-wrestling events like veterans day parades, street fairs, etc. Soon after, we worked a few shows under masks and silly gimmicks for Revolution Pro. We liked being a part of these indy shows so much, we started our own company called High Risk Wrestling.... Sort of like our version of OMEGA. This is where we really learned our craft, as we ran at least twice a month. The Young Bucks were born soon after.
2-Why you two young brothers choose to enter in this business? And who is or who are the wrestlers who inspired you and your style?
It captured our imaginaion. All we ever did as kids was somehow included with wrestling whether we were watching it, talking about it, impersonating it with toys, sleeping with it (literally.... I had a WWF bed spread) or doing it our selves in the living room, (One time when I was about 12 years old, I hit a leg drop off the couch and fractured my youngest brothers arm) or the backyard. It was our lives. Right off the bat, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart and The Rockers were our biggest inspirations. And then later on in life, probably the Hardys, RVD and Chris Jericho. The Rockers, and Hardys have probably inspired our style in the ring the most though.
3-Your roots are in Southern California but now you spend a lot of time all around the world: when you start to move the first steps in your career, what are your expectations as a Tag Team?
We want to always put on the most exciting match of the night, love us or hate us. Our biggest expectations for our selves is giving the fans a show. No matter who else is on the card and no matter what else has happened on the show, we hope our stuff is remembered at the end of the night. One other expectation of ours is to stay healthy but to remain spectacular.
4-During the last few weeks we have seen you wrestle in Dragon Gate retaining the PWG World Tag Team Titles against Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa: how hard is the Japanese style? Was that your most difficult defense?
The Japanese style was very tough to adjust to at first. But we are now very used to it and actually prefer it over any other stlye that we have done - at this point. It can be very intimidating to wrestle the Dragon Gate guys because of how precise and quick they are... However, it makes you sooo much better being in the ring with guys like that. We owe so much to that group of men. Shingo and Tozawa were incredibly challenging, and were def one of our toughest defenses. I would rank it up there with our defense against the Motor City Machine Guns.
5-Talking about Dragon Gate and his USA new project, both of you are in the DG USA roster and the debut is set to 25th July in Philadelphia, one of the most charming city for wrestling. What are your feelings about this great promotion and his huge evolution?
We are just thrilled to be on board with such an amazing company. This is a huge opportunity for us, and we just feel blessed to be a part of this huge entity. I see big things for DGUSA which is only good for my brother and I!
6-All Star Weekend 6 was remembered well also for your great match against Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino: now in Dragon Gate with them in your same roster, there is a possibility for a rematch. How much The Bucks desire to revenge that defeat.
We feel like we've had sooo many better matches than the match we had with them at ASW 6. Nick and I were so nervous and were just exposed to Doi and Yoshinos style. Believe me, we tore down the house with those two MANY times in Japan. In my eyes, they're the best tag team on the planet. We would be absolutely honored to get into the ring with them again. Bucks vs Doi and Yoshino is always something to remember,
7-In the United States The Young Bucks has wrestled a lot of match, but I read about a recent bout against Scorpio Sky & Brandon Gatson that you love over the others: can you tell us something about it?
I wouldn't necessary say that I loved it more than anything we've ever done in the states, but I'd def rank that match up there pretty high. We were all just ON that night and we had the crowd when and where we wanted them. I think I enjoyed the match so much also because we were wrestling a very close friend in Scorpio Sky (which seems to be rare) and we were happy to be back wrestling on US soil. Maybe thats why I was so enthusiastic about that match? Nevertheless, it was a really good match-up that I am looking forward to watching and then hating it. (That's what happens every time I watch a match!) =(
8-Recently, you also fight in Chikara during the King of Trios teaming with El Generico, one of the most enthusiastic performer in this business: how is wrestle with him? And against him, like during the All Star Weekend 7?
Generico brings out the best in everyone. Nick and I told him at King of Trios that we believe that he is the best "spotty" (or what other term that should properly be used here) wrestler in North America. Many promoters called him their "guranteed match of the night." So, obviously working with him is a joy. We have a certain chemistry that we have with him that came out within minutes of working with him. Our styles just mesh well. All Star Weekend 7 is still one of our favorite matches ever. Despite the fact that Pac was sick that day and was literally puking his brains out underneath the ring apron the entire match, it still came out awesome!
9-To wrestle in one of the most important show in the independent scene like the Chikara KOT 2K9 is another big step for the Bucks, but the biggest event for you is near to come: the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Titles Tournament 2009! Can you explain your feelings when only 4 days divide us to the DDT4?
KOT was a joy to be a part of and has really opened up several doors for us. PWG DDT4 is arguably the biggest tag team tournament in independent wrestling, so we are obviously extremely excited to be a part of this. Oddly enough, this is finally our very FIRST time partcipating, so Nick and I both have butterflies. We also have a giant task ahead of us as we will be defending the PWG Tag Team belts throughout the whole tournament. Talk about pressure!! =/
10-In the First Round you will face Brandon & Dustin Cutler, two of your best friends outside the ring: in the last two bouts against the Cutler Bros, The Bucks reached two great Titles defense. Now things becomes harder, what are your expectations for this match?
We always put on something special with the Cutlers. We haven't wrestled anyone in the world as much as we have wrestled these two brothers. As I mentioned earlier, Dustin and I started training together the very first day I stepped foot in a wrestling school, so we've been through it all. And Brandon is one of the guys that we taught. The four of us have traveled together, trained together, dined together, wrestled together and slept togeth--- wait a minute! Anyhow, this match shall def be a 10-12 minute highlight reel. (With all of the Cutlers moves edited out of course)
11-The other First Round match in your side of this One Night Tournament involving Chuck Taylor, the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Chikara KOT 2009: what do you think about him and his style? Can he with Kenny Omega be the underdog in the tournament or Los Luchas can advance due to their experience?
We've got our eyes on Chuck and Omega. I think they might be the dark horses in this one. Los Luchas are a very experienced team but for some reason, I've got a gut feeling that we'll be moving on to the second round and wrestling Mr. Taylor and Mr. Omega. I think that these two have very unique styles. Taylor likes to use invisible grenades, while Omega impersonates Ryu from Street Fighter. That's a very weird team now that I am thinking about it. Bring on the Luchas.
12-The other side involve the recently born Hybrid Dolphins of Paul London & Bryan Danielson, against an evergreen like The Dinasty of Scott Lost & Joey Ryan. Also, we are going to see Motor City Machine Guns against Roderick Strong & the PWG World Champion Chris Hero. Can you make for us a preview of these two bouts?
These two matches shall be very exciting and will probably be a little different than our match with the Cutlers and OMEGA and Taylors match with the Luchas. We're personally going to wait for the DVD to come out to watch the MCMG and Hero and Roddy. That match sounds like fun... Maybe because Nick and my favorite team in the world right now, the Guns are in it! No matter who comes out on this side, Nick and I are going to have our hands full... Especially if we end up having to wrestle the Dolphins! I might have a hard time keeping a straight face. Have you seen that promo on Youtube! Of course you have! You probably ordered the shirt you mark!
13-Reading the participants of DDT4 2009, you already beat 4 of them(retaining titles against the Guns and the Cutler Brothers, and in non-title matches against Los Luchas and The Dinasty). For you, this one day walkway to success can be great like the past 8 months since you gain the PWG World Tag Team Titles beating The Age of the Fall?
It's going to be a tough night to say the least. We've obviously got bulls-eye targets on our chests. Everyones going to be a lot hungrier when they're in the ring with us because of the simple fact that the belts are on the line throughout the tournament. Nick said it best when he said, "if we come out of this thing alive, and with the belts, we might be called the greatest PWG Tag Team champs of all time."
14-One more thing about the DDT4: on May 22nd you reach 264 days of reign, only 9 fewer than The Arrogance who retain the Titles for 273 days in 2004. The final achievement for The Bucks is to climb the highest stair of PWG Tag Team Division? And what do you think about a dream showdown against Scott Lost & Photogenic Chris Bosh in the very near future, to determine the most dominant Tag Team in the history of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla?
We've kept count on the number of days that we've held the belts - so it's always on our minds. When we first won the belts we stated in a post match promo that our goal was to become the greatest PWG champs of all time. I think, if we pass the record that Arrogance holds, we will gain just that. Our debuting match in PWG was against Arrogance, which we lost. We'd love to avenge that initial defeat someday.
15-In Italy we say “there is no 2 without 3”, so how high are the possibilities to see the third European Vacation? And there is a chance to see finally Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in Italy, maybe my biggest dream?
Unfortunately, it is unlikely for PWG to come back to Europe because of past issues from the second trip. As for Italy, I haven't heard anything in the works. However, keep your eyes open, as the Young Bucks just might be headed to Europe... soon actually!
16-The last question: what can you tell us about Malachi Jackson?
He's the future of wrestling. I believe that we have the potential to be one of the next great families in this business. I like to think of us as the new Von Erichs, hopefully without all of the tradegy.
Thanks a lot Matt & Nick, I know that I ask you a lot of things, and you must know that maybe I could go on more and more! We're very proud to read your words here on WeAreWrestling and I hope to know your beliefs on the last days of July after the debut in Dragon Gate USA! See you soon guys, hopefully in Italy!
No problem. Thanks for all of the support. God bless
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Back in town, funeral speech, ewf, scorpio sky
I've been home now for little over a week. I can say that I am back on US time finally! It is very hard to adjust back to normal, once you've been living somewhere else for nearly a month. You know what? It feels good to be home! I missed friends, family and especially my wifey so badly that it hurt.
I didn't come home during the best of circumstances as I had a funeral to attend two days after I landed. I was asked to speak a day later at the actual ceremony in front of everyone to represent the grand kids. It was a huge honor to be asked to do this, however I was extremely nervous. I was never much of a public speaker. Soon after my mother in law asked me and I agreed, I had flash backs of myself standing in front of the class room back at Alta Loma High School in Ms. Mirra's class with sweaty hands and a shaky voice. Not only was I semi-terrified to speak in a normal setting, but this was a funeral. I really cared for and loved this person that I was going to be talking about. Would I choke up? Or better yet, would I cry? I decided that I wouldn't worry about it and would attempt to do my best. Now, I know a lot of you are thinking, "Matt, you do this for a living. You wrestle in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands and cut promos and interviews on a weekly basis." This is all true. My wife made the same plea. However, when I do such things, I am in full character. I described it to Dana best when I told her that when I am in character, it's like I have a mask on. I am someone else. Matt Jackson will not be speaking in front of almost 100 grieving friends, family and others who I'd never actually met. Matt Massie will be. So morning came, and as soon as I knew, it was time for me to go up. I was sweating bullets (as my wife described to my mom when she later re-told this story) as I walked up the two steps onto the stage. I looked into the crowd of loved ones, cleared my voice and then said, "The last time I was in front of a large group of people, I was wearing spandex and baby oil." Huge pop. I smiled and told everyone that I was referring to the last match I had in Japan. The same match that I had dedicated to Grandma Dana. Many people read the blog that I wrote about Grandma Dana and loved it. I felt it would be in good taste to share it with everyone, so I read it aloud. As I read, I was brought back to the very day I wrote the blog. I was so vulernable and alone. My wife and family were going through such a difficult time, but I was stuck somewhere else. I tried to speed through the blog because I can feel my self getting close to tears. I don't know if it was my nerves, or looking out at my beautiful wife who was sitting in front of me with wet eyes? Maybe it was a combination of both. I shared the same scripture that I wrote in a past blog and then thanked Grandman Dana on behalf of all of the grand kids. I sat back down and felt proud and relieved. After the ceremony, people came up to me chuckling. "Matt, you do realize that you were a little vague about the whole wrestling thing right?" I thought about it and realized that I never actually explained that I was a professional wrestler. I just mentioned that I wore spandex and baby oil and happened to be touring Japan, having matches. There were several people in the audience that were puzzled by what exactly I was talking about. Many of the people were elderly, so the information that I gave could of meant really anything to them. I found this quite funny. I was told by Dana and many others that I did a great job which meant more to me than any review online about one of my matches. So, all in all, it was an emotional day. But, a very good day as we all talked and shared memories of a lovely lady that will never be forgotten.
Last night in Covina at a long running little indy company called EWF, Nick and I wrestled in our first match back in the states. We had so much fun being in the ring with one of our best friends, Scorpio Sky who is even more talented than I knew. He REALLY impressed me last night. Sky can wrestle anywhere in the world and be successful. I truly believe this. His partner, Brandon Gatson also did a wonderful job in his role. The four of us tore the house down last night and had one of my favorite matches that has taken place in the states. It's weird that Sky was the one to teach me how to do a proper lock-up so many years ago at my first day of training, yet we wrestled in only our SECOND match last night. I really hope that we get to work with him more in the future. Speaking of Sky, he was one of the only nice guys that sort of took me under his wing when I began training in Revolution Pro (pre-PWG SoCal company). Everyone else stiffed me, trash talked me and didn't want anything to do with me (I probably deserved all of these things) because I was a cocky kid who did flips in his backyard. I'll never forget him for sitting with the new lonesome kid at the lunch table in the cafeteria.
Anyhow, next week is PWG DDT4 and a small trip to Las Vegas for a debuting company. I have to say that the only thing I miss about being in Japan, besides the nice people, is the hectic wrestling schedule. I love wrestling! However, nothing is better than laying out by the pool with the love of my life in beautiful, sunny California. Time to get my tan back!
Later days!
Matt
I didn't come home during the best of circumstances as I had a funeral to attend two days after I landed. I was asked to speak a day later at the actual ceremony in front of everyone to represent the grand kids. It was a huge honor to be asked to do this, however I was extremely nervous. I was never much of a public speaker. Soon after my mother in law asked me and I agreed, I had flash backs of myself standing in front of the class room back at Alta Loma High School in Ms. Mirra's class with sweaty hands and a shaky voice. Not only was I semi-terrified to speak in a normal setting, but this was a funeral. I really cared for and loved this person that I was going to be talking about. Would I choke up? Or better yet, would I cry? I decided that I wouldn't worry about it and would attempt to do my best. Now, I know a lot of you are thinking, "Matt, you do this for a living. You wrestle in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands and cut promos and interviews on a weekly basis." This is all true. My wife made the same plea. However, when I do such things, I am in full character. I described it to Dana best when I told her that when I am in character, it's like I have a mask on. I am someone else. Matt Jackson will not be speaking in front of almost 100 grieving friends, family and others who I'd never actually met. Matt Massie will be. So morning came, and as soon as I knew, it was time for me to go up. I was sweating bullets (as my wife described to my mom when she later re-told this story) as I walked up the two steps onto the stage. I looked into the crowd of loved ones, cleared my voice and then said, "The last time I was in front of a large group of people, I was wearing spandex and baby oil." Huge pop. I smiled and told everyone that I was referring to the last match I had in Japan. The same match that I had dedicated to Grandma Dana. Many people read the blog that I wrote about Grandma Dana and loved it. I felt it would be in good taste to share it with everyone, so I read it aloud. As I read, I was brought back to the very day I wrote the blog. I was so vulernable and alone. My wife and family were going through such a difficult time, but I was stuck somewhere else. I tried to speed through the blog because I can feel my self getting close to tears. I don't know if it was my nerves, or looking out at my beautiful wife who was sitting in front of me with wet eyes? Maybe it was a combination of both. I shared the same scripture that I wrote in a past blog and then thanked Grandman Dana on behalf of all of the grand kids. I sat back down and felt proud and relieved. After the ceremony, people came up to me chuckling. "Matt, you do realize that you were a little vague about the whole wrestling thing right?" I thought about it and realized that I never actually explained that I was a professional wrestler. I just mentioned that I wore spandex and baby oil and happened to be touring Japan, having matches. There were several people in the audience that were puzzled by what exactly I was talking about. Many of the people were elderly, so the information that I gave could of meant really anything to them. I found this quite funny. I was told by Dana and many others that I did a great job which meant more to me than any review online about one of my matches. So, all in all, it was an emotional day. But, a very good day as we all talked and shared memories of a lovely lady that will never be forgotten.
Last night in Covina at a long running little indy company called EWF, Nick and I wrestled in our first match back in the states. We had so much fun being in the ring with one of our best friends, Scorpio Sky who is even more talented than I knew. He REALLY impressed me last night. Sky can wrestle anywhere in the world and be successful. I truly believe this. His partner, Brandon Gatson also did a wonderful job in his role. The four of us tore the house down last night and had one of my favorite matches that has taken place in the states. It's weird that Sky was the one to teach me how to do a proper lock-up so many years ago at my first day of training, yet we wrestled in only our SECOND match last night. I really hope that we get to work with him more in the future. Speaking of Sky, he was one of the only nice guys that sort of took me under his wing when I began training in Revolution Pro (pre-PWG SoCal company). Everyone else stiffed me, trash talked me and didn't want anything to do with me (I probably deserved all of these things) because I was a cocky kid who did flips in his backyard. I'll never forget him for sitting with the new lonesome kid at the lunch table in the cafeteria.
Anyhow, next week is PWG DDT4 and a small trip to Las Vegas for a debuting company. I have to say that the only thing I miss about being in Japan, besides the nice people, is the hectic wrestling schedule. I love wrestling! However, nothing is better than laying out by the pool with the love of my life in beautiful, sunny California. Time to get my tan back!
Later days!
Matt
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
end of the tour, from the start, last suppa
Phewww... We just wrapped this thing up. Twenty four days and sixteen matches later, Nick and I are spending our final night in Japan. We will be boarding a plane tomorrow morning with a third successful tour under our belt. After our very athletic opening match in which we teamed with a young wrestler by the name of Ryoma who I believe is the future of Dragon Gate, we sat in the cheap seats and watched the rest of the pay per view. Nick and I talked about how excited we were, being a part of a huge show like this in Japan. It's surreal sometimes to think about how far we have come. Eight years ago, my dad built me my first wrestling ring in my backyard. I dreamed of one day becoming a professional wrestler and traveling the world, competing just like all of my childhood heroes did. Truth be told, I taught my self how to wrestle. Obviously, I've learned along the way from different trainers and from the experience that you get from wrestling so many different people. But, the hours I spent watching videos and emulating what I saw in my own ring starting at the age of 16 years old for hours on end is the reason I believe I have reached the success that I have. I was absolutely obsessed with professional wrestling and was going to do it no matter what. I will always be in debt to my parents who saw the potential in me. They handed me the very first canvas for me to paint all of my ideas on. If I didn't have a supportive mom and dad, this whole story might be a little different.
We were just taken out by a sponsor to grab a bite to eat after the show. He took us, Susumu Yokozuka and Kagetora along with 12 other friends/family to an EXPENSIVE Italian joint. We ate salad, pizza, pasta, Kobe beef, and chicken wings for about 3 hours straight. We signed a couple of magazines and even a plate that the sponsor bought from the restaurant, took some group photos and headed back to the hotel. I have to say, we ended the tour on a very strong note. It was probably our most fun night out.
We ate, slept, traveled, trained, set up rings, tore down rings and wrestled with this wonderful group of people who I consider my fraternity brothers. No matter what happens, I will never forget my stay(s) in this unbelievable country. Dragon Gate has helped Nick and I mature in wrestling and become better at what we do in and out of the ring. There really isn't a promotion out there that fits the Young Bucks better than Dragon Gate.
I get to see my family and my beautiful wife in about 24 hours! I am so thrilled that words cannot express my excitement. We've got an hour drive to the Nagoya airport, a 90 minute flight to Narita Tokyo, a 2 hour lay over there, and then a 12 hour flight to LAX.. It's going to be an intense day of travel. We get in around 10:00 am on Wednesday - in which I will be headed straight back to my other job.
I'm not sure if I will keep this blog going... I do know that I really enjoy writing and I would absolutely love to keep it up for the sake of memory. (One day I plan to write a book). This blog has made this trip fly by. Stay tuned for more... hopefully!
Thanks for coming on this ride with me!
God bless!
Matt
We were just taken out by a sponsor to grab a bite to eat after the show. He took us, Susumu Yokozuka and Kagetora along with 12 other friends/family to an EXPENSIVE Italian joint. We ate salad, pizza, pasta, Kobe beef, and chicken wings for about 3 hours straight. We signed a couple of magazines and even a plate that the sponsor bought from the restaurant, took some group photos and headed back to the hotel. I have to say, we ended the tour on a very strong note. It was probably our most fun night out.
We ate, slept, traveled, trained, set up rings, tore down rings and wrestled with this wonderful group of people who I consider my fraternity brothers. No matter what happens, I will never forget my stay(s) in this unbelievable country. Dragon Gate has helped Nick and I mature in wrestling and become better at what we do in and out of the ring. There really isn't a promotion out there that fits the Young Bucks better than Dragon Gate.
I get to see my family and my beautiful wife in about 24 hours! I am so thrilled that words cannot express my excitement. We've got an hour drive to the Nagoya airport, a 90 minute flight to Narita Tokyo, a 2 hour lay over there, and then a 12 hour flight to LAX.. It's going to be an intense day of travel. We get in around 10:00 am on Wednesday - in which I will be headed straight back to my other job.
I'm not sure if I will keep this blog going... I do know that I really enjoy writing and I would absolutely love to keep it up for the sake of memory. (One day I plan to write a book). This blog has made this trip fly by. Stay tuned for more... hopefully!
Thanks for coming on this ride with me!
God bless!
Matt
Sunday, May 3, 2009
setting bus records, dinner, a pleasant scene
OMG! I just spent 11 hours on a bus today. That's godda be some kind of record or something! My legs feel like jello, but it's absolutely fine, because I am on an absolute high right now! Nick and I defended the PWG Tag Team Championship belts successfully tonight against Tazawa and Shingo in what was easily our best match of the tour. We stole the show tonight. We have so much chemistry with these guys. We told them that we'd love to wrestle them again in Los Angeles for PWG. Then after the show, we stopped at what we thought would be the usual 24 hr mall/convenie... but then we saw the golden arches. Oh, God was looking out for us on this day. A big mac, 2 hamburgers and a hot apple pie later, and I was on cloud nine on that bus.... even if it was for 11 hours.
Two days prior, Yoshino took us out to eat at a fantastic Japanese restaurant. Eating in Japan is like an all day thing. Food just kept coming and coming. The cook who is a huge Dragon Gate fan, worked his magic right in front of us on the table stove. We scarfed down noodles, Kobe beef, eggs and ice candy for desert. Japanese ice candy are these little colorful balls that look like jaw breakers that are frozen and come in different flavors. It melts in your mouth like ice cream. Nick raved over it. Unfortunately during the dinner I got the call from Dana that I was dreading all trip. Our loving Grandma Danas story had finally come to a close. My heart sank instantly, like I was being thrown into the ocean with cemet pillars tied to my ankles. I won't go into too much detail, but I will be home for the funeral which I feel extremely lucky about. I've been doing a lot of praying and decided to dedicate my first PPV match on Tuesday to my Grandma Dana.
My knees a little banged up after a top rope moonsault tonight and Nicks sternum is a little sore from a 450 splash or as they call it in Japan, a "Fire Bird." Other then that, we are feeling pretty good physically. Oh! Before I forget. We had a surprise show yesterday that we were not aware of. We were thinking we had the day off but soon found out that we would be wrestling. So, at the end of this trip, we will have wrestled 16 times. That's pretty impressive if you ask me. Nick and I felt so robbed of our day, so we felt a little burnt out yesterday. Regardless, I think both of these Jacksons are ready to come home. I told my wife that we are going out for a steak dinner the very night I get home. Outback Steakhouse sounds tremendous right now.
I experienced a pleasant scene today on the bus. I watched two of the wrestlers sharing videos of their family off of their phones to each other. One wrestler proudly held his phone with a huge smile on his face as his baby boy giggled and played. The other wrestlers phone lit up with his wife and small infant laughing and talking. I didn't understand the dialogue because it was obviously Japanese. The wrestlers were so thrilled to share this with each other. I was thinking about what these guys were like in their real life roles. When we go on tour with these guys, we spend every waking second with them. A few of the Dragon Gate guys have actually become some of my closest friends in this business. That's a strange thing if you consider the fact that we don't even speak the same language. But, if you think about it... I don't really know these guys. I just know what they're like as wrestlers. Not human beings. Professional wrestlers are truly a unique breed. We are not normal, thats for sure. However, seeing that little scene on the bus made me realize that maybe we're a little more normal then I thought. We're all actually pretty diverse people with many different interests. If you think about it, the only thing that we all have in common is our love for this business.
I joke all of the time when people ask me what I do for a living. "I perform in exaggerated fight scenes that only have one take." "Is it real?" they ask. "Yeah. Real fake," I fire back.
I'm in a weird mood.. And its 3:32am, so forgive me for the stupidiy that was this blog.
Two days prior, Yoshino took us out to eat at a fantastic Japanese restaurant. Eating in Japan is like an all day thing. Food just kept coming and coming. The cook who is a huge Dragon Gate fan, worked his magic right in front of us on the table stove. We scarfed down noodles, Kobe beef, eggs and ice candy for desert. Japanese ice candy are these little colorful balls that look like jaw breakers that are frozen and come in different flavors. It melts in your mouth like ice cream. Nick raved over it. Unfortunately during the dinner I got the call from Dana that I was dreading all trip. Our loving Grandma Danas story had finally come to a close. My heart sank instantly, like I was being thrown into the ocean with cemet pillars tied to my ankles. I won't go into too much detail, but I will be home for the funeral which I feel extremely lucky about. I've been doing a lot of praying and decided to dedicate my first PPV match on Tuesday to my Grandma Dana.
My knees a little banged up after a top rope moonsault tonight and Nicks sternum is a little sore from a 450 splash or as they call it in Japan, a "Fire Bird." Other then that, we are feeling pretty good physically. Oh! Before I forget. We had a surprise show yesterday that we were not aware of. We were thinking we had the day off but soon found out that we would be wrestling. So, at the end of this trip, we will have wrestled 16 times. That's pretty impressive if you ask me. Nick and I felt so robbed of our day, so we felt a little burnt out yesterday. Regardless, I think both of these Jacksons are ready to come home. I told my wife that we are going out for a steak dinner the very night I get home. Outback Steakhouse sounds tremendous right now.
I experienced a pleasant scene today on the bus. I watched two of the wrestlers sharing videos of their family off of their phones to each other. One wrestler proudly held his phone with a huge smile on his face as his baby boy giggled and played. The other wrestlers phone lit up with his wife and small infant laughing and talking. I didn't understand the dialogue because it was obviously Japanese. The wrestlers were so thrilled to share this with each other. I was thinking about what these guys were like in their real life roles. When we go on tour with these guys, we spend every waking second with them. A few of the Dragon Gate guys have actually become some of my closest friends in this business. That's a strange thing if you consider the fact that we don't even speak the same language. But, if you think about it... I don't really know these guys. I just know what they're like as wrestlers. Not human beings. Professional wrestlers are truly a unique breed. We are not normal, thats for sure. However, seeing that little scene on the bus made me realize that maybe we're a little more normal then I thought. We're all actually pretty diverse people with many different interests. If you think about it, the only thing that we all have in common is our love for this business.
I joke all of the time when people ask me what I do for a living. "I perform in exaggerated fight scenes that only have one take." "Is it real?" they ask. "Yeah. Real fake," I fire back.
I'm in a weird mood.. And its 3:32am, so forgive me for the stupidiy that was this blog.
Friday, May 1, 2009
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