Ask Scrappy: Second Edition
By Adam Pearce

WELCOME TO “ASK SCRAPPY” SECOND EDITION
DISCLAIMER: The opinions presented herein are those solely of independent pro wrestler and wannabe columnist “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce. These opinions are in no way intended to be representative of those possessed by SocalUncensored.com or anyone affiliated. This broadcast may not be reproduced or rebroadcast without the expressed written consent of the Chicago Cubs or Major League Baseball.

no1 jobber asks:
Tell us about your experience trying out for WCW (if i correct about that).
Plus i want to hear about your days in the Gold Bond Mafia!!!

AP replies:
”WCW opened my eyes to how good and bad the business could be. I went to Atlanta at a time (late 1999/early 2000) where signs were beginning to surface that problems were coming. I remember walking in to the Power Plant the first time and running into Shark Boy (who was under developmental at the time). He says to me, “Pearce, what are you doing here? They just cut 20 guys.” I guess it didn’t hit me then, but it definitely hit me later when I was doing promos with Dusty Rhodes. He said to me, “Ya know, I am not sure if I had to do it all over if I'd have stayed in this business." I was taken aback. He said, "We have been cutting loose a lot of guys lately, and hell, I don't know if I'll be here in six months." It seemed almost like he was trying to subtly tell me something, and we ended the session after that. Long story short, I turned down the contract offer, and shortly thereafter McMahon bought everything. Who knows if I had signed if McMahon would have bought my contract out, but probably not. Sometimes I read through the contract and wonder if I did the right thing. Something tells me I did. As for the Gold Bond Mafia, originally I had nothing to do with it. CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Dave Prazak, and Chuck E. Smooth were the “founding fathers”. One time someone ran a show at the Comicon in Chicago. I wasn’t on the show, but the rest were. Spontaneously, they all decided to “Bond Up” in the ring following their match, and VOILA, the birth of the Mafia. So it goes, we all were big fans of Gold Bond Medicated Powder (still are), and at times we took to applying the powder to certain areas during shows. It wasn’t really ever turned into a wrestling gimmick, although the name was used in tags at times, and of course, I still like to break out the Bond for use in matches. Moreover, we all used to drive around the Midwest for shows and the shit we used to pull is really what the Mafia was all about. One time on the way to Minneapolis, MN we pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot. Cabana was driving and he would ask people off the wall shit. He pulled up to one guys and asked, “Hey, do they sell CHAPS in there?” As the guy looked back at Cabana puzzled, I popped through the sunroof with a loud “HYYYYOOOOO!” and bombed the guy with a few well-placed water balloons. Another time Cabana, Punk, Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and I duct taped the entire inside of a van for no reason. Shenanigans were a staple of the Mafia. I have yet to “Bond Up” during a match in California, I don’t know if the fans here are ready for that yet. You never know.”

Mr Vander Pyle asks:
What is your opinion of the wrestling that comes from the state of Indiana?

AP replies:
”They have wrestling in Indiana?”

Ed Murphy asks:
Do you think that the reason the WWE is not picking up more of the 'local indy stars' (wherever local may be to them) because it is just far too easy to get into this business these days, and too many people just don't have a clue as to what they are really supposed to do and in turn try to out-do eachother and raise the so called bar higher for the rest of the card, thus leaving the fans feeling they only really saw one or two good matches and the rest sucked because there weren't enough high spots and sick bumps to make them go OOOOOHH and AAAAAAHHH?

AP replies:
”That’s a tough one, Ed. You make some interesting points, but here’s my take. I honestly think that the pool full of the type of talent that the WWF really wants is far shallower than it used to be. Now you can argue that there is plenty of talent out there, and while I would tend to be inclined to agree, I can also say that the majority of said talent doesn’t work a “WWF” style. Your highly pushed Indies, (i.e. ROH, CZW, etc.) are not exactly promoting what McMahon is. The trend now is toward a Japanese style and getting away from the entertainment that WWF is known for. Really, only UPW is putting out what I think crosses over directly to WWF. Guys are trying to get over, and doing the traditional WWF style on the indies isn’t as over as strong style, so naturally the amount of talent doing that WWF style is thin. I don’t know if I think it necessarily matters how easy it is to get into the business these days, when you look at how easy it was for Nathan Jones to get into the WWF. It’s very hard to make a case that says he ever paid his dues. Really nice guy, but does he belong on WrestleMania? Not a chance. Not even John Cena (who you can say paid his dues) was on the show. The point is that as I see it, it doesn’t matter how you get in to the biz anymore. To address your thought that most guys have no clue and in turn try to “out do” everyone else, I say that I personally see a lot more of that on shows that are run by guys with little clue themselves. What I mean is that shows that are run with a purpose, that is, with the idea in mind to bring the people back for the next show, make sure to spread out what is done among all matches. That way you don’t “Blow your wad” on the first night and you make the people want to come back for more. Gotta tell you though that “High spots” and “sick bumps” do NOT necessarily translate into a good match. I’d even argue that too many of either in one match most of the time equates to the term “Clusterfuck”. Food for thought.”