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15 Questions w/ AJ Smooth Conducted by IPW Webmaster Mike Frost ***This interview was conducted prior to Smooth joining Extreme Pro Wrestling***
1 When did you break into professional wrestling? Officially, Mr. Destiny destroyed
some guy, and made an open challenge to any hungry new comer, and was
met with about 5 separate guys. Needless to say, our eyes were
bigger than our stomachs, and we all got smoked. About 6 months
ago, I was trained by TS Aggressor, so that’s the official story, but
UNOFFICIALLY, I started backyard wrestling in the summer of 1999 at one
Mic Meyhem’s place. A lot of great memories there, let me tell
you what, and not a one of them involved any halogen light bulbs. 2 What made
you want to become a professional wrestler?
That’s a tough one, because I’ve
always watched wrestling, but never once thought that I would be
getting into it. I guess watching it with Peter Fintel and shoot
wrestling with him led to our interest in heading out to Mic’s, and all
it took was one time, and I was hooked. I guess just doing it
made me want to become one. 3 What was
your first ever match?
Backyard, it was Pete Fintel,
untrained pro, it was against Pete Fintel for a charity event held by
Brian Hiesel, first match for an actual promotion, it was a three way
dance against Mic Meyhem and Montoya X, and my first match as a trained
professional at IPW was a tag-team match featuring myself and Tony Sly
against this Force fellow and Meyhem. I know what you’re
thinking, what? Mic and Smooth against each other? Trust
me, folks, that’s something you’ll probably see in the future. We
honestly hate each other. Main stream, I’d say that I was a
huge Benoit/Jericho/Matt Hardy fan. Those are three guys that, if
I hit the gym, I might resemble. On the IPW circuit, I’d say TS
Aggressor has obviously had the most work put into me, followed closely
by Mic Meyhem. There’s a whole slew of guys that showed up to
training on multiple occasions that meant a lot to me. I couldn’t
begin to name them all, but it meant a lot to us. Surprisingly enough, it was Mic
Meyhem vs the Dirty Sanchez in Algona. I had a lot of fun just
being out there. As for something that I’ve actually been billed
in, I’ll say my next match, because I’m always looking forward to
getting into the ring and trying to do something fun. Steve Shettler. On a more
serious note, physically, I’d say Mic, because for whatever reason, he
assumes that “friend” means a license to kick you in the head as hard
as he can. Maybe that’s one of those unwritten rules that I
haven’t heard about yet. Competing at the Algona show has to
be the highlight, just because it was for a good cause. That, and
the crowd was lucky enough to see my gorgeous face twice in the night. My biggest regret to date is that I
didn’t take the $1500 that I had saved after my senior year of high
school and go right into training with it. I wouldn’t trade any
of the memories of my ‘yarder career for the world, but I sure wouldn’t
mind throwing in three years of college debt to the wayside and extra
ring experience under my belt in exchange. I broke my ankle once, but that
wasn’t as bad as the time I sprained my left ankle. In my IPW
career, the only real injury that I’ve had was during training where I
caught an elbow in the mouth from one Montoya X, and somehow, got my
teeth sunk into my lower lip. I didn’t know it right away, but I
it felt funny. I took a time-out, sat on the side of the ring,
and pulled on the lip, and I could feel the teeth coming out. I
got sick from the gaping hole in my mouth, but hey, I’m still here. I’d honestly like to see me on
there more, but I’m selfish. Actually, there’s a wide variety of
styles here, and I think that’s good for all parties involved.
The fans get a wide-variety of styles, ranging from complete comedy all
the way to stapling money the opponent’s forehead. I’d like to
see more women’s wrestling happening, though, because it’s something to
add to the show. Funny story about that: they shouldn’t. I’m out there, playing the part of the bad guy, and I want them to dislike me. If people do like me, it probably has something to do with the comedic timing and my ability to eat dog food. Yum.
I want to pull a Terry Funk and
wrestle when I’m on social security. As for the legacy, I’d
really want to be remembered as a guy that the boys loved to work, and
the fans loved to either boo or cheer, depending on the
situation. Isn’t that everybody’s goal? I answered this already! What
kind of crap interview is this? Pull your head out of your
keister! GEEZE! Also, it’s spelled, “you’re,” because it’s
not my “done.” Who hires these guys? Probably the eyes, but there’s no
one type for me; I just like to appreciate a beautiful woman. Find a trainer that you feel
comfortable with (TS Aggressor) and hit the gym. I don’t know if
you necessarily have to be a physical specimen to be a wrestler, but
you certainly need to be in good shape. Also, when you’re getting
your money together for training, save some aside for travel expenses
and ring gear, because that’s something a lot of people don’t think
about. A generic singlet looks a lot better than a pair of
windbreakers, and it’s always a good idea to have wrestling
boots. The most important thing, though, is to open your ears and
eyes, and close your mouth, because you can learn from ANYBODY, even if
it’s what not to do in the ring. |