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WRESTLING COLUMNS
Interview with Josh Prohibition
June 20, 2004 - by Larz Richards
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1.Well for the benefit of fans who don't follow the
indy scene, can you give them a good idea of who Josh
Prohibition is?
I'm and independent professional
wrestler from Cleveland, Ohio who has been wrestling
professionally now for 3 years. I've been lucky
enough to have wrestled all over the United States and
had the pleasure of traveling to Japan and England as
well. I've had the opportunity to step in to the ring
with some of the greatest wrestlers in the world
during my young career and for that I am grateful.
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2. What made you decide to get into the wrestling
business and how did you go about getting into it?
-In 1998 my hopes of playing pro baseball were cut
short by a shoulder injury. Without baseball in my
life I found myself incredibly bored and began
occasionally backyard wrestling with my friends and my
brothers. For some reason we gained a lot of local
and national attention because of the matches we put
on. After about 5 backyard matches a very bootleg
backyard fed who rented a ring and called themselves
an indy fed contacted us and asked us to come put on a
few matches at local high schools and party centers.
We put on some really insane matches where my friends
and I took way too many risks because we didn't know
how to actually wrestle. I really loved being in a
wrestling ring and performing but I knew I was going
about it the wrong way so I decided to do the right
thing and signed up to receive professional wrestling
training from a wrestler in Cleveland named JT
Lightning. I began training for months and had my
first professional match on April 21st, 2001.
3. You've wrestled for quite a few independent
promotions, what have been some of your favorite place
to wrestle and why?
-I really enjoyed the time I spent with XPW.
I feel M-Dogg and I were given a big
push right from our debut as a tag team and I feel we
did well with the chance we were given. I was given
the opportunity to step in the ring with some great
wrestlers like Chris Hamrick, Tracy Smothers, Danny
Doring, Christian York, Chris Chetti, Shark Boy, Bobby
Quance, Jardi Frantz, Halloween, and Damien 666. I
was only about a year and a half in the sport when I
joined XPW so stepping into the ring with these guys
really helped me learn a lot and helped me mature as a
wrestler. I've also really enjoyed my time in IWA
Mid-South. Ian Rotten has always put me in there with
some great wrestlers and the crowds are always very
appreciative and all around good wrestling fans. I
really like wrestling for the International Wrestling
Cartel in Pittsburgh. M-dogg and I have had a lot of
success as a tag team there and we have been given a
lot of creative freedom with our characters and
matches. I liked the direction I was heading my last
few months in CZW as well because I always prefer to
be a heel when I wrestle.
4. Who are your favorite wrestlers to work with and
why?
-I've been having a ton of fun working with
Tracy Smothers and Chris Hamrick as of late and
learning a lot at the same time. When we aren't
tagging M-Dogg and I have put on some entertaining
matches. I've always enjoyed stepping into the ring
with Sharkboy, Bobby Quance, and Super Dragon as well.
5. Do you prefer wrestling in singles or tag matches
and why?
-I love working singles but I really
haven't done it in a long time. I've been tagging
with M-Dogg everywhere I go and because of how flashy
and spectacular his array of moves are we end up being
a "face" tag team. I really dislike
being a face. I feel I'm a fairly solid wrestler but
I'm not flashy. It's hard to be a face when you don't
do flashy moves. I feel I excel as a heel and hope to
begin working predominantly as a heel in singles
action again soon. I also don't care for having to
worry about what other people are doing in the match
and would rather concentrate on one single opponent.
6. Before making your debut on the indy scene you were
a well-known backyard wrestler, do you think that
backyard wrestling has an unfair negative stereotype?
-I think if you want to be a pro wrestler you
should go to a pro wrestling school and get trained.
Don't even bother with backyard wrestling if you have
aspirations of being a pro. It's not worth getting
banged up in the backyard and getting a reputation as
a backyarder. I think too many kids are taking insane
risks in the backyard thinking that some how those
risks are going to get them a place in the
professional wrestling world and that couldn't be
farther from the truth. I only had 5 backyard matches
and 5 untrained in ring matches and some people still
consider me a backyarder even though I've received
professional training and have had 150 professional
matches in my 3 years in the sport. If you are just
backyarding for fun and have no aspirations of a
career in the sport then do whatever floats your boat
but don't risk your neck because it's not worth it.
Besides scars and broken bones you aren't going to get
anything from backyard wrestling.
7. Speaking of backyard wrestling, there is actually a
documentary on yourself and M-Dogg 20 called Backyard
Wrestling: A Passion for Pain. How did you become
involved in this project and how does it feel to have
your own documentary?
-It's a pretty cool documentary, which basically documents our rise from
backyard wrestlers to fairly well known independent
professional wrestlers. It's got highlights from our
backyard days and well as various indy highlights. We
also threw some of our "jackassesque" stunts in there
as well to break up the wrestling action. I feel it
came out pretty cool. Unfortunately 2 days before I
was scheduled to leave for England to wrestle Backyard
Wrestling Incorporated contacted me and said they
needed a finished version of the video. So I scraped
together all our footage last minute and threw the
documentary together on my home computer and
overnighted it to California. For my first time ever
using editing software I feel it came out well and it
was even shown on In Demand Pay Per View as well as
being sold in major stores all over the country. I
wish I would have had more time and more warning to
really make the thing snazzy but those are the breaks.
M-Dogg and I are working on our next DVD though and
this one will rule. You can check my website for more
information on when the DVD will be coming out and
also get copies of the Passion for Pain DVD.
8. One of your big breaks came in CZW, which regularly
featured you and M-Dogg 20, how did you first become
involved with CZW?
-Mike Burns from Smart Mark Video taped a local show in Cleveland and saw M-Dogg
wrestle and suggested him as a possible candidate for
their upcoming Best of the Best tourney. M-Dogg and I
had been feuding our entire first year in the sport at
that point and I was brought in to be his opponent for
our debut match for CZW. We just went to CZW and put
on the match we had been putting on all over the
Midwest and upon completion of the match we were
informed we were both permanent members of the CZW
roster.
9. You made some waves when you and M-Dogg 20 jumped
to XPW, do you have any regrets over that decision?
-No I don't have any regrets. I thought long and hard
before I made the decision and I'm very content with
where I'm at in my wrestling career. I don't ponder
or question things that took place in the past because
that can drive you nuts if you are always 2nd guessing
yourself. I'm living an amazing life and I'm thankful
for everything I have and I'm thankful for the roads
I've taken to get me here.
10. In your debut match in XPW, you won their tag team
titles along with M-Dogg 20 as Youthanazia from
Mexico's Most Wanted. Were you surprised to get such
a big victory in the short time you had been with the
company?
-Yes I was incredibly surprised. We
didn't know we were going to win the tag belts until
we arrived at the building our first night. If my
opinion carried any weight at that time we wouldn't
have won the belts. In all honesty I didn't feel
comfortable taking the belts from wrestlers like
Halloween and Damien. I'm happy though the match came
off as well as it did and I was very proud when
Halloween and Damien put us over after the match.
11. Your second reign with the XPW tag team titles was
actually the last reign before the company folded, do
you still have the belts?
-Yeah unfortunately some bad business decisions led to the end of XPW. It was
a great locker room and a real fun place to work. In
all honesty XPW really wasn't a good wrestling company
until the last year or so of its existence. It had
just hit its prime when It folded. I do still have
the belt at home and it's a beauty. I'm considering
selling it though because of my current financial
situation. So if you want to email me a money offer
go for it. I'll entertain all offers.
12. Do you think that XPW got a lot of unfair press
when it was active?
-I can totally see why XPW got a bad reputation. I used to hate XPW when it first
came out. I was ECW for life and I felt XPW was
trying to steal ECW's thunder.
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I used to watch XPW's
television show which was on right after ECW's
Hardcore Television and I would think to myself "what
the hell is this crap, this sucks!" I also viewed a
couple of the early XPW videos and I couldn't believe
how bad they were. Besides excellent production
quality the product needed a lot of work. With time
though XPW seemed to get its act together by bringing
in a lot of great wrestlers and really improving their
product. Unfortunately though first impressions last
a long time and I think XPW suffered because of that.
13. Do you think that you might return to CZW?
-I would have no problem returning to CZW. Even though I
received a ton of negative press, shoot interviews
about me, and hate mail, I never said a negative word
about CZW or the wrestlers who work there. I feel I
handled my departure well and I don't think I
permanently burnt any bridges. I still have some good
friends in CZW and would definitely entertain an offer
to return. Plus I get a kick out of the theme song.
14. In addition to wrestling all over the United
States, you've also wrestled in England. What are the
fans like over there, and is it different wrestling in
front of them instead of a standard US crowd?
-I had a great time wrestling in England. I thought the
crowd was very appreciative of what they saw and I
hope to go back there soon. Only complaint was they
would chant, "you fucked up" when a move was countered
which didn't make much sense to me because American
fans reserve that chant for obviously blown spots. I
think the English fans haven't been desensitized as
much as the American wrestling crowd which makes it
easier to impress.
15. Is there any specific indy promotion out there
that you would like to work for?
-I think working for ROH or TNA would be good exposure. I would like
to go back to England and work for FWA as well.
16. What in your opinion is your best match, and why?
-I'm weird about my "best matches." My opinion of my
matches changes month to month. At the time I may
think a match is good but when I go back like 6 months
later and watch it again I think the match sucks
because I have improved during that time period and I
notice little things I don't like about the match. I
go back and watch my first couple best of tapes and I
get embarrassed at how bad they are. So if you own
one of those tapes send it back to me and I'll send
you a new tape with better matches. If I had to
choose my best matches I just recently had a match
versus the SAT for JAPW that I really enjoyed and
thought was good. We faced Homicide and B-boy at IWA
Mid-South a month ago and it got a great reaction from
the crowd. Come back in a few months and ask me the
same question and ill probably say those matches
sucked though because I'm very critical of myself.
17. What's the worst injury you've ever had?
-I broke my ankle in two places in the fall and that was rough.
Probably the most painful thing I've done though was
when I broke a rib this winter and tried to work
through it, which isn't too smart. The pain is just
constantly there because even breathing hurts and it's
still bugging me right now. So if you can avoid
breaking ribs do so!
18. Who are your best friends in the business?
I have a lot of guys I consider best friends in the business:
M-Dogg20, Chris Hamrick, Tracy Smothers, Colt Cabana,
Super Dragon, Raymond Rowe, and Alex Shelley to name a
few. There are plenty others that I didn't name as
well. I've met some really great and interesting
people during my short time in the sport of wrestling.
The characters you meet are one of the main reasons I
enjoy doing what I do.
[Josh Prohibition] |
19. Any funny or amusing stories from the road that
you would like to share?
-I can't think of just one good story off the top of my head but my website has
commentaries from my past couple years in the sport so
there should be some pretty entertaining stories
there.
20. In general has the indy scene become better
quality wise or worse?
-I think in most in cases the
quality of wrestlers and matches has definitely
improved but the fan reaction has gotten worse. I
think if you go back and watch old ECW tapes circa
1995 a lot of those matches weren't very good by
today's standards, but the crowd reaction was amazing.
You'd think those fans were watching the main event
at Wrestlemania based on their reactions. I think
that's missing in today's wrestling. I think part of
the problem is the market is over saturated with too
many federations and there are too many shitty workers
who wrestle 6 times a year for one federation that
give indy wrestling a bad name. Another part of the
problem is the fans have seen so much stuff that they
have become a bit spoiled, and the final part of the
problem is a good portion of fans don't want to be
just that, "a fan." They want to be insiders,
bookers, critics, and smart marks. They want to
overanalyze every match and be extremely critical of
every little thing instead of enjoying the show. I
loved being a wrestling fan. I still am a fan of this
sport. I love watching guys putting on excellent
matches. I try not to focus on the negatives when It
comes to wrestling and I've noticed that when you get
some friends together and go to a wrestling show and
go absolutely ape shit you will have a much better
time then if you sit there taking notes on every match
so that you can run home to be the first one to post
the results and your opinions on the message boards.
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21. You debuted in 2001, and since then you've
wrestled for several big name indys and have wrestled
big name independent talent like Super Dragon and Colt
Cabana. How does it feel to have accomplished so much
in such a relatively short time in the business?
-When I began wrestling training 3 and a half years
ago I never could have imagined making it as far as I
have in such a short period of time. I've worked hard
and I've got a lot of breaks that I am thankful for.
I don't take for granted where I've gotten and I'm
appreciative of those who have helped me get here.
It's been a wild ride and I look forward to seeing
where this wacky world of professional wrestling will
take me next.
22. How can the fans keep up with your career?
You can get the latest updates about what's going on with
me at www.joshprohibition.com along with the Passion
for Pain DVD we mentioned earlier. There is also some
other cool merchandise along with some commentaries I
write that seem to get a good reaction from the fans.
You should go buy some merchandise because I'm really
poor and I need a few bucks for gas and food.
23. Any last plugs you want to throw out?
-Thank you very much for the interview. The questions were very
good and I appreciate you doing your homework
regarding my career before interviewing me. Fans can
feel free to email me at Josh@JoshProhibition.com with
any responses or questions regarding this interview.
You can also send hate mail, love mail, or naked
pictures of your girlfriend, sister, or mom. Thanks
for having enough interest in me to read this entire
thing.
by Larz Richards.
wrote:
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