Huskie Howard Interviews Eddie Gonzales

Huskie: Wrestling fans, welcome back to Wrestle Ohio. My guest today is the one and only Eddie Gonzales. Eddie, thanks for your time, how are you doing?

Gonzales: I’m doing good…thanks for having me, although it’s later than planned, Tommy Timex.

Huskie: Yeah, sorry about that. Speaking of time…how long have you been in the wrestling business, and how did you get your start?

Gonzales: How much time ya’ got? (Laughs) Just kidding. I’ll be honest, I think it was around 2002ish, I’m not sure of the exact date. I started with this complete jabroni, Mike “The Rebel” James, at a place called ACE Wrestling in Hamilton, Ohio. He was a total tool, but it was a ring to mess around in. I used what limited skills I had, and got booked at a bunch of places, and stunk it up and killed every town I was in until I hooked up with Sharkboy. I believe that was in 2004, that is when my career actually started.

Huskie: Who are your influences in wrestling?

Gonzales: Well, as a kid I was without question the biggest mark for the Ultimate Warrior. I was also a huge fan of Marty Jannetty growing up, I guess the other Rocker was pretty cool too though. As I got older I got into Memphis stuff and couldn’t watch enough of Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Huskie: What is your favorite match of all time?

Gonzales: Man, that is such a hard one to point out. As a child, Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 6 was huge for me. But if I had to pick one above any and all of them, I guess I would have to say Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich in the unification match.

Huskie: Have you wrestled any former WWE/TNA/WCW starts and which one stands out to you the most?

Gonzales: I’ve actually been pretty lucky in my career and have had the pleasure to work with a ton of those guys. Koko B. Ware, King Kong Bundy, Brutus Beefcake, and so many others, I can’t even remember all of them to be honest. I have been truly blessed in that aspect of my career. If I had to pick out my favorite, I would have to say Sharkboy. He was the guy I credit as my trainer, and him and I have been around the horn dozens of times, and it’s always a good match…Rory McCallister would be a close second though.

Huskie: What is your favorite match you have been involved in?

Gonzales: I have a lot of matches that hold a special place in my heart, but my favorite of all time had to be Me vs. Sharkboy in what I think was in the Columbus area. It was billed as a “Mask vs. Mask” match, and it was put on by Bobby Fulton. The only problem with that was…I don’t wear a mask! I also wasn’t told it was going to be a mask vs. mask match until I got there! So I had to scramble around the locker room and find somebody with a mask they weren’t using, I finally did but I couldn’t see or hear shit. But for whatever reason, I remember it being one of the absolute best times I’ve ever had in the ring.

Huskie: What is your dream match?

Gonzales: I have two, but I guess it could be made into a triple threat match. Out of all the guys I ever had the pleasure of working with or sharing a locker room with, the two guys I have yet to work with are two of my childhood heroes, Jerry Lawler and Marty Jannetty.

Huskie: What is it like being on the road traveling from show to show?

Gonzales: I’ll be honest, I do very little traveling these days and keep pretty local, but at on time I was all over the place. I’ve wrestled in almost every state in the union and even parts of Canada. I loved the travel life. Nothing better than good road stories with good friends. Sadly a lot of my old travel partners either left the business or they are like me and decided to stay put. It’s a little known secret that I absolutely HATE driving. So I like to keep things local now. If the chance arrives though, I think I wouldn’t mind going back on the road.

Huskie: Do you have any good wrestling stories that you would like to share with us?

Gonzales: Man…do I! But let me be honest with ya‘. My stories go best with a cold beer and a lit cigarette. I would love to sit here and say, “Let me tell ya’ a story”, but I think most of the hilarity would be lost in text. So people, when you see me at a show, ask about a story and I will gladly tell ya’ one!

Huskie: You get to be in this business with your wife, “Hardcore” Heather Owens. What is it like getting to be in this business with her?

Gonzales: I HATE IT!! No, I’m kidding, she’s an awesome chick. I couldn’t have found a better woman to share the business with. I just wish we wouldn’t be opponents or tag partners so damn much. She is awesome though, she has a good head on her shoulders and knows this business better than most of the guys I know.

Huskie: Eddie, we have a question from a fan. Kelly Claypool asks, “What is it like wrestling your wife, do you take it easy on her and do you think she takes it easy on you?”

Gonzales: Well Kelly, wrestling my wife is pretty awesome sometimes. I get to do things very few people get to do, and that is beat the shit out of my significant other and not go to jail for it! She is one stiff bitch though! I treat her no differently, I told her before our first match, I am going to hit you like a dude and I expect you to do the same.

Huskie: If you could wrestle anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Gonzales: Not Japan…it’s so damn cliché to give that damn answer! I hate Japanese food and I’m married, so I wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the Asian women! Plus I’m more about the story than the actual moves in the ring, so I don’t enjoy what they do over there. If I honestly had to pick, I would say get me a time machine and I’d wrestle in Memphis in the 1970’s.

Huskie: What are your thoughts on Indy wrestling in Ohio?

Gonzales: Oh lord…where do I being…Indy wrestling in Ohio is the absolute shits! But it’s that way everywhere! Too many guys who don’t have gear, and were not properly trained and wrestle for no money! I honestly blame all of these shitty promoters out there who do not want to pay for good talent, so they decide to pick from the bottom of the barrel. Everyone wants to be Vince McMahon, the only difference is Vince McMahon has money and these jack offs do not!

Here is how it is, back when I started there were very few places to work, so the spots were few and far between, which means you had to work hard and prove yourself before you got a spot. Now…every asshole who has a credit card and a computer can buy a ring and call themselves a promoter. When everyone has a show, spots are endless! Why work hard to gain a spot if one is pretty much guaranteed?

It’s the sad state we live in everyone says the internet killed kayfabe…that maybe true, but it also killed good paydays for Indy workers! Everyone is a wrestler now! I heard a new term today, I think I am going to use…”Advanced Mark” is what I am going to call them from now on. Before you had to pay top dollar to be trained to be a pro wrestler, now since everyone is a wrestler, everyone can train others to be a pro wrestler for next to nothing…at least in their minds anyway. These people think they are helping their friends or having a good time, but the fact of the matter is they are killing what little life the business has left. It’s really a shame too.

Huskie: Eddie, we have another question from a fan. Sam I am asks, “If you were the king of pro wrestling, what changes would you like to see for the business and how would you make those changes, while still keeping the Indy scene alive?”

Gonzales: Oh man! Ok, if I made the rules, here is how it would go…first and foremost, there would be some kind of territory system. Promotions would not only have to have a license to run, but would also need to petition on why they should be able to run in that town. I also believe the license system should be installed for all wrestlers. I don’t mean say twenty bucks and sign a slip of paper, then nothing…like they do in places like Kentucky…I mean real licenses. When you get your drivers license, what do you have to do? Well, you have to take a written test, you have to have a learners permit, where you can only drive with a licensed driver and after X amount of time, you can apply for your full license…you have to get in a car and drive with a licensed instructor, well why can’t wrestling be that way? Why can’t people get a permit, train with another licensed professional and then have to pass a test, with a licensed instructor? I also think the license should be a HUGE price as well, maybe $500 to start and $100 every year after that. Sure some people reading this will balk at that. But just imagine how much SHIT would be weeded out. Sure some great guys might have to fall by the way side, but you have to break some eggs to make an omlette. Also training…no longer can people work in the same town for 30 years and wrestle in front of the same 45 fans every week and all of a sudden be a trainer. The trainers would have to pass their own test, to be certified. Getting trained by someone that’s not certified or doing the training without being certified…you are banned for X amount of time and fined…it is a total pipe dream but that is just a couple of things I would do if I have the chance to.

It would limit the number of promotions, it would limit the number of workers and most importantly it would increase guys pay day…how? Well, let me tell ya‘…when there’s a limited number of promotions more people will travel to see a show. Why would Bill drive to Cincinnati to see a wrestling show when he lives in Middletown, when there will be a show in Middletown that night as well? If Bill wants to see wrestling, he is going to drive his ass to Cincinnati. Also, with a limited number of promotions, there are a limited number of spots. EVERYONE is going to have to bring their A game to earn one, for once the promoter can be picky on who they book, and with the license system, no jabroni’s would sneak through the cracks! So now you have a bigger crowd, talented wrestlers and everyone is paid and happy! Well, that’s the way I see it anyway.

Huskie: Recently on Facebook, you have been in a heated discussion with the owners of Serious Attitude Wrestling. What started that, and what do you have to say to them?

Gonzales: Look at one time I wrestled for S.A.W. They had a solid group of guys and a few asshats, but it was a good time and the jabroni’s got a chance to learn from the guys who have the knowledge…then…things just got stupid and damn near everyone with any credibility left. What was left was a bunch of tools who think they have actually done something in this business. They wore T-shirts when they wrestled, dumb HighSpots masks, shitty replica belts with tape on them and just about every wrong thing they could possibly do… and they passed it off as actual wrestling! The place is owned and ran by a family, who most are probably really nice people, but they don’t know shit about wrestling and I am still under the sense the only reason they even opened S.A.W was because their unathletic, untalented, just all around worthless “wrestler” of a child couldn’t get booked anywhere else because he was underage. So he needed a place to pretend to be a wrestler.

Then they have guys who couldn’t wrestle their dick out of their pants to a take a piss, wrestling the opening match, then the third match with a mask on, then the fifth match with another shitty mask on. These kids know three moves but somehow had nine gimmicks. It was just embarrassing! Then to top it all off, they have this YouTube show, where they whole thing is just their “wrestlers” smoking cigarettes, cussing up a storm, calling out the WWE, yes even after I said that…I can’t believe I said it. They called out the WWE and refuse to take a second take of anything. If the first take sucks, oh well, it makes the show…but most of all they don’t pay anyone and I don’t mean the pay is shitty. I mean they flat out don’t pay anyone…and a lot of those jabroni’s only wrestle there! How can one be a professional wrestlers when they are not getting paid? That’s what PROFESSIONAL means. It’s places like S.A.W now that make me embarrassed to tell people I am in this business.

Huskie: Also recently on Facebook, you and former ECW star New Jack got into an argument. What was that about?

Gonzales: WOW! Word travels fast…I’m not going to go deep into it, mainly because he does not deserve me putting him over. The short version is that he said you ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL wrestler unless you are on national television. He did not like the fact that I told him that as long as you are making a living at what you do, then you are a PROFESSIONAL. He didn’t like that someone had a different view than him and I asked him, if by his logic does that mean he is a FORMER professional wrestler? Because last time I looked at a TV Guide, his ass was nowhere to be found. I guess he didn’t like that and he deleted me. I even extended my hand to him, and my number passed to him, to see if he would like to discuss this a littler further and more like men. My phone has yet to ring, so I guess not.

Huskie: There are places in Ohio where you not only have a lot of promotions in the same town, but you have three or four promotions running out of the same building. What are your thoughts on that?

Gonzales: It makes my head want to explode. These people run a show on a Monday under one name. Then on Saturday run a show with the SAME FUCKING GUYS in the SAME FUCKING building…and call it a different name…WHAT THE FUCK? I don’t even know how to comment on that anymore. It’s so dumb, I would make myself dumber trying to figure it out.

Huskie: In you opinion what are some of the worst promotions in Ohio and what are some of the best promotions in Ohio?

Gonzales: Talk about being put on the spot! Well, I guess I will start with the best. I do think the top two are without question are NWF and WAR. Nobody can argue with them, they always draw good, they have talented guys and they know how to get and maintain a fan base. Most importantly though THEY DON’T AIR THEIR DIRTY LAUNDRY ONLINE! They put the effort into running solid shows instead of bashing whatever company runs in the next town.

As far as the worst goes. Well S.A.W wins that battle hands down. I’ve heard there is some bible thumper group that runs around here that are pretty bad, but I have personally never seen their show. I have however seen one or two of their guys, and if the rest of the company is anything like them, they are pretty bad. But the “worst” fed as a whole is hard to pinpoint outside of S.A.W. I mean, there are several groups that have solid workers with the shitty ones there as well. So I guess I’m going to stick with S.A.W…but I will say that nobody is really innocent, there are jabroni’s everywhere.

Huskie: So far in your career, what has been your favorite moment?

Gonzales: I ain’t getting heat at home. Meeting and marrying my wife in the ring is my favorite moment.

Huskie: What else would you like to accomplish in your career?

Gonzales: Honestly, my days of dreaming big are behind me. I don’t have the dream of headlining Wrestlemaina like I did when I first broke into this business. I am very self aware of my look and my abilities…I guess what I would like to accomplish is just trying to be able to fix the local wrestling scene by hook or by crook.

Huskie: How do you want to be remembered?

Gonzales: As the guy who pulled a big sock out of his pants…Oh wait wrong guy…I would just like to be remembered as a guy who loved this business. A guy who was a straight shooter and a guy who wanted nothing more than to see the local wrestling scene survive long after I’m gone. And the guy who could out drink damn near anyone!

Huskie: What companies do you currently work for?

Gonzales: Honestly, right now I’m nursing a back injury. But I do work for Rockstar Pro, LSC and I will be apart of PT Wrestling when it starts back up and I still do the occasional road show.

Huskie: We have another question for a fan. Joseph Minnich asks, “Why are you afraid to wrestle at HWA?”

Gonzales: Well, first and foremost, I am not AFRAID to wrestle for the HWA. I choose not to wrestle for the HWA. Part of it is a money situation with a former owner. Part of it is I am a bitter old man and most of it is I just simply HATE the East Coast style of wrestling, and that is the route I think they are going with their partnership with CZW. Good for them, but I don’t like flashy moves for the sake of flashy moves and that is what the East Coast style of wrestling is. I like the story of wrestling, I like the build up.

It’s just not for me, and I wish them all well and I hope they make a million dollars, but I just do not see myself fitting in there. The bitter part of me won’t allow me to work for an HWA that is not ran by Cody Hawk or Les Thatcher. I still to this day believe the downfall of wrestling in this area began in July of 2007 when the old HWA shut it’s doors. Like I said, I hope they make a million dollars, and never say never in this business…but the fact of the matter is, I honestly do not believe I will fit in with their style of wrestling. I hope the HWA and it’s fans understand that and don’t hold any ill will towards me for that.

Huskie: Why should a promoter book you?

Gonzales: If a promoter wants a story to be told in the ring. If a promoter wants a guy who will be honest. If the promoter wants a guy who is there to help…that is when they should book Eddie Gonzales. I don’t stroke egos, and I don’t tell people what they want to hear, but I can go out in that ring and tell a story with wrestling holds like no other…then again maybe those are good reasons why you SHOULDN’T book me. (laughs)

Huskie: What does it mean to be a promotion’s champion?

Gonzales: Well, it’s SUPPOSED to mean the promoters believe in you. It’s SUPPOSED to mean the promoters are trusting you to be the top guy, sell tickets and make sure the seats are filled with assess…nowadays I think it means you’re a nice guy, or you’re the promoters son or they don’t have anyone better to put it on.

Huskie: Do you have any advice for those looking to get into the wrestling business?

Gonzales: My advice is this. Do your home work, see if the place has a credible trainer who has mileage in this business and has a proven track record with trainees. Don’t go to the jabroni down the road who you have never heard of just because the training is cheaper…like most things in life…you get what you pay for. Also don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Don’t compromise yourself or your beliefs just because you think it will get heat.

Huskie: Are there any trainers that you would recommend?

Gonzales: I’m going to preface this a little first, because some people will get butt hole hurt if I don’t mention them, but I can only comment if I have seen the product of your training. Cody Hawk in my opinion is the best trainer in the area that trains on a regular basis with his own building. I also would always throw in Roger Ruffen for the same reasons. Both of those guys have a solid track record with producing some great talent and even ones who have gotten out of Indy hell and on to the big time. If he is still training, which I don’t know if he is or not, Les Thatcher. What he lacks in people skills he more than makes up for it with just pure knowledge of this business. Sharkboy of course, and last but not least, Jimmy Yang.

Huskie: Do you have anything to say to your fans?

Gonzales: I have fans? Well, to all three of you out there…please continue to support GOOD Indy wrestling. Spend you money on quality shows, and let the shitty ones know they are going to have to try harder to get your money. A lot of these guys, this is their living. If the fans don’t pay for tickets some of these guys don’t eat…so please tell your friends, tell your family and get them all out to the GOOD show out there and be entertained! Most tickets are great prices and you support not only the guys wrestling…but also the business as a whole. We couldn’t make it without you, and we live for entertaining you guys! And really, just thank you! Thank your to all of the people who have paid the $5, $10, or $15 to come see us, without you guys, we would be nothing!

Huskie: How can your fans follow you online?

Gonzales: I have a Facebook, I have an Instagram, I have a Twitter account that I need to go more into, but they can all be found by using the username ITZAWORK. Need to send me an email? ITZAWORK@damn near every email client that exists. Want to play some games? ITZAWORK on Xbox live and the Playstation network. I don’t play the Wii because I’m not lame.

Huskie: Hey…I play the Wii!

Gonzales: Well, when you want to play big boy games, find me with the username ITZAWORK. (Laughs)

Huskie: Well Eddie, it’s been interesting and it’s been fun, but that’s all the time we have. Once again, I want to thank you for your time.

Gonzales: No problem, thanks for having me…and when you get a ton of heat and more clicks on your website than ever before…get at me and we can do a part 2!

Huskie: Wrestling fans, be sure you get to a show near you and check out this brutally honest superstar in the ring. And be sure too look him up online, and even find him on your favorite video game network (except Wii) to play some video games. Until next time, you’ve been Hanging with Huskie!