I HAD to police things at my gym, Extreme University; taking as much pride in it –if not more– than anything I had ever done. We have an up-scale, paying membership, while simultaneously training classes of Wrestlers and Fighters that are probably the best and the most colorful in the US at that time. The…
At the time production of The Smashing Machine begun, the four of us had just become neighbors. And we were ALL going through it. But…the only one that got “caught” (well, on camera at least) was Mark K. As a small example of the nearly-daily mundane, we attend a very strange after-hours party at a…
So, Tito is participating in what looks to become a long-running storyline on TNA. My thoughts….good? bad? Indifferent? … …Excellent! I first brought Tito backstage to WWE to meet Vince McMahon and good ‘ol JR roundabouts 2007, when the UFC was really just starting to take off. Vince, JR and crew were exceptionally…
While at UFC 13 in Augusta, I had met and begun to bond with Randy’s manager, the legendary Rico Chiapparelli. Rico’s would be one of the most important relationships I would form in the MMA world and would come to be characterized by a deep respect and genuine affinity for him. Shortly after the epic…
This photo was shot not long ago, for a short entry in my Book, “Been There, Done That,” called “Scarred (for life?)” In it, I go into the story behind each scar and explore the physical trauma behind each and their associated mental and emotional implications. I’ve posted this silly photo here as a “before”…
Like many testosterone-driven males, the question “Who is the toughest man in the world?” intrigued me from the day I first picked up a comic book and first viewed pro wrestling. After all, as youngsters, weren’t The Green Lantern and Andre The Giant the real deals? C’mon. Weren’t they? I remain intrigued. By luck, in…
November, 1996. Extreme University, California’ first-ever true Mixed Martial Arts gym, opens its doors on Avery Parkway in Mission Viejo. December, 1996. I get longtime friend and All Japan Women’s leading foreign star, Reggie Bennett, to agree to teach Pro Wrestling classes at EU. Paying homage to UFC –who later sues me for the “Ultimate…
September, 1999, UPW at Mission Viejo High School In a fundraiser for the school’s student council and its wrestling team, we pull out all the stops. It’s the first time we’ll videotape vignettes in advance and project them onto big screens. The vignettes –or “pre-tapes” as they’re called in the industry—set-up stories, so that spectators…
After a few successful shows at Extreme U, I get ambitious. I cold-call legendary rock and roll impresario Gary Folgner, the owner of equally legendary Orange County clubs The Coach House and The Galaxy Concert Theatre. After a conversation in which we share anecdotes about everything from my days booking Motley Crue and The Dead…
The First UPW Show The first UPW “show” ever is held at my gym, Extreme University, in Mission Viejo. The first match EVER wrestled on a UPW show is Psycho Matt Hall versus world class bodybuilder Aaron Baker. There it is for the record books. They’re so green, that throughout the course of the match,…
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