Ricky O

In light of recent events in Jersey Championship Wrestling, the Wrestling Clothesline have decided to give its owner and promoter, Ricky Otazu, the opportunity to clear the air and inform JCW's fans what has been going on.

All comments herein are those of Mr. Otazu and not necessarily the views of the Wrestling Clothesline.

Any questions, comments, or rebuttals (which we are more than willing to print) may be sent to cactusb@wrestlingclothesline.com or jim@wrestlingclothesline.com.

-------

Wrestling Clothesline: I think the whole gist of this is to let you explain if you want what's been going on with JCW and with the recent staff changes of the past week or two.

Ricky O: Yeah, cool.

Clothesline: So let's start there- what brought these changes on in the first place?

Ricky O: Me having too big of a heart. I allowed people to work me into pity and let them get bigger roles than they deserved. People like Noel who I felt sorry for because of family problems.

Clothesline: Most know about Noel's departure, but who else was let go and why?

Ricky O: Bob C. (Cassidy) has resigned for personal reasons and to spend time with his kids, my godson. You'll fix the spelling, right?

Clothesline: Yeah, I'll take care of that no problem

Ricky O: As far as workers go, Dirty Money and Devin Sturgis were fired for behind the scenes troubles.

BilJim2K2: Anything you can get into?

Ricky O: Not so much Money as he was a pleasure to deal with, but Devin is his ride and no ride to NJ = no work.

Clothesline: So it was pretty much Devin Sturgis

Ricky O: The problems in JCW started a little over a year ago.

Clothesline: Around what time last year?

Ricky O: When Noel and Tim (Noel's husband) formed Dark Mind Creations and begin to run the JCW website. The problem was they instantly got power and JCW became The Noel Show.

Clothesline: How so?

Ricky O: The Web site had Noel everywhere- more pictures of her then workers. The splash every month had Noel's ass or face on it and the guys that were killing themselves weren't on the page. Then if you mentioned something about it, the website didn't get updated for three weeks.

Clothesline: Do you feel that she was exposed there at the expense of others on the roster? Did this also happen backstage- how and why?

Ricky O: Noel and politics were hand and hand. She flirted with Bob C. until he liked her ideas, then she would try the same shit with me and then if we both didn't like them she would throw Devin into it and as a last resort try and beg Inferno into changing the angle or gimmick. She also hated other women in JCW and continually back stabbed them or trashed them to the office (me) till i got fed up or believed the hype.

Clothesline: Was she the sole reason, then, for problems within JCW?

Ricky O: No, not at all. We gave into her which led others into believing they could also just keep asking or begging till they got their own way. I am 100% the reason for JCW slipping.

Clothesline: But you can't fire yourself- so what needs to change besides not using Noel, Devin, or Dirty Money anymore?

Ricky O: I ran JCW from 1999-2001 in front of large crowds then I went into bigger buildings and took my shot. At first we did well, 400-600 people, then the number dropped and I began to second guess myself and let people with one or less years in the business give ideas, which as we see sucked.

The second reason is we got hot and ran hot angles with Jay Lethal vs. LiveWyre and others which were really over and going places, and people got big egos (Foxxy and Damian) and then didn't want to do finishes or end storylines. I mention Damian (Dragon) and Foxxy (Dreams) and we have since patched things up, but they were a prime example. They weren't get booked anywhere and then jcw turned them into a huge fad in a year's time, and then they got big egos and didn't want to finish the storyline, which we will finally do on December 6th with me back to booking 100%.

I booked LiveWyre vs. Lethal, I booked the early Showtime Shawn Sheridan vs. Damian Dragon series which i think you enjoyed. I was booking (Don) Montoya vs. Simon (Diamond) and the Jersey Triad (Inferno, Reckless, Montoya). When I let others do the booking, the shows slipped badly.

Clothesline: OK- so what's going to be different? How will you handle potential egos in the future?

Ricky O: I am back to "you need me, I don't need you" thinking. I have 30 promo tapes a week coming in and 200 e-mails looking for work.

Clothesline: Does that translate to the Internet as well? After all your experiences with egos and fans and others, do you consider the Net to be a positive or a negative when it comes to JCW?

Ricky O: To answer the Internet question real fast- it is a huge negative because of me and me only. I love JCW more than anything in the world. I have the logo tattooed on my leg and I live it to the fullest and I get pissed off by fake posters and assholes with keyboards so I shoot back. And that's not the right thing to do. Let the shows speak for themselves.

I took the Web site for granted and didn't fully understand that news will get out if the right people see the shows. I made Damian Dragon a NJ name, I made Foxxy a name, I made Dave Greco a name, Shawn Sheridan is now a top star in the Tri State area because I let them develop into it.

Clothesline: He is? ;-) Honestly outside of SSCW I don't see Sheridan anywhere else- and it's not because of lack of talent. (that's for you, Sheridan.) ;)

Ricky O: You need to find people with the same passion for wrestling and let them explore their minds. Then you polish it and make it work. JCW now has a booking team for the first time since Simon left the booking position.

Clothesline: How will it work?

Ricky O: Inferno, myself, and Dave Greco will be booking all storylines with Danny (Inferno) handling writing with me and Greco doing scouting for new talent to fit roles we will be using. The old booking team of Simon, myself, and John Shane booked late 2002 - summer 2003 and I think we did it right even you came back.

Clothesline: What are your initial goals for JCW in the next few months?

Ricky O: My goals are simple. Get us back on top of NJ where we were one year ago. Shut my fat mouth and book shows like I was before the politics came into it. And have fun again- the key word is fun.

Clothesline: How do you avoid the "politics"?

Ricky O: The politics were started in JCW by Bob C. splitting the locker room into his guys and girls vs. Ricky O's boys. Bob hated my old school friends like Inferno, Wenzel, Simon, Montoya, and Reckless, and wanted the Noels and Foxxys and Damians to run and book JCW. So right off the bat, JCW was a spilt company and needed to be fixed. I didn't throw my weight down like I should have, so now with one person in charge things will be back to normal. I took the fact that I had a partner to split bills with and take pressure off didn't make it the best fit.

Clothesline: Define "normal" :-)

Ricky O: Normal in JCW: fun, laughing with the WC crew, and making Brett think I hate him. All the while doing shows for families to enjoy.

Clothesline: As far as hanging with the WC crew, while we enjoy the fun times, we and you certainly realize that there are others to please. How do you handle a diverse audience and how will you react in the future if someone doesn't like what you're doing, how you're doing it, etc.?

Ricky O: First off, I need to make this clear- friendship is friendship, business is business. We all like wrestling, otherwise we won't be doing things in it as a fan or worker or promoter, and every one has different ideas and ways of thinking. But when you find a good outlet, and there are a million promises and things going your way, it is too good to be true. Stick to dealing with friends and trusted people who have paid dues. Wrestling needs to be fun.

Clothesline: Define "paid dues."

Ricky O: A lot of media in wrestling are in it for a free show 4 times a month. I don't like that. Sit in the crowd a few years understanding booking and what it takes before you bash someone. Have a guy stiff you on talent or a headliner no-show you before you write the column killing the promoter.

Look at me with the Road Dogg. I pre-paid a guy for a huge show, 400 pre-sold, and a new building in the RexPlex which is now a bigger whore than (insert your own name here mine is 4 letters), and he gets high and no shows me. I lost 250 people to refunds and no one bought at the door plus I lost the building. And you know what? Not one article killed Road Dogg but JCW got smeared. A lot of reporters had no clue as to why they were bashing me but they did when others who knew the truth and knew enough to research it for a minute printed the truth. Thanks, Brett.

Clothesline: Who do you wish would just shut up?

Ricky O: Jac Sabboth and his fake posting. It isn't his fault because the websites just keep letting him do it. Ban the fucking IP from posting and the shit goes away. And guys like Mike Johnson who only cover feds that allow him to make money off of them. It is like being held hostage "I will
cover your show if I can make a bus trip and make the money off of it."

People like Brett, Georgie Ann (Makropoulos) and even Eric Walker cover feds, spend money, and write good or bad about shows. If a JCW show sucks, write that it does because I will agree with it. And if it rocks make sure you spell my name right.

Mike Johnson responds: That certainly would explain my coverage of JCW's J Cup earlier this year. Of course, Ricky forgets to mention he approached me about running a bus trip, which I declined to do yet still covered his show (which shoots his theory to hell). I even gave favorable coverage to his small independent company, which despite its sparce crowd, was still covered on 1Wrestling's Newsline and treated as important as the same day's Summerslam PPV.

When someone presents a quality product, they receive a positive review. Anyone who claims otherwise about my writing has sour grapes over something I've written, and if I've written it, there is just cause backed up with enough proof in the article. I wish JCW well on their latest relaunch and restructuring and look forward to the events in CT and elsewhere, the addition of Kevin Kelly, and everything else they have been promising their fans in the past few months.

I don't have a problem with JCW. I just wish that I heard more often about things like J Cup quality show and less about websites being destroyed by old employees, bus trip debacles, and other things that have gone on over the past several months. I wish them well as they attempt to overcome any adversity that has been thrown their way and I hope everyone gives them a chance and makes up their own mind about the product.

Clothesline: What if while they're writing good stuff they exaggerate to the point of ridiculousness? Does it harm JCW or the person writing said exaggeration?

Ricky O: Yeah that is Walker's downfall, but he tries too hard sometimes to get his loyalty out- but yeah, overdoing it can cause people to stay away. Good intention, bad results.

And did I say fuck Dave Levy?

Clothesline: Not yet- why? :-)

Ricky O: OK I will go into New Jersey promoters.

Fat Frank (JAPW): Awesome friend, great sense of humor, respects JCW and me, and I do the same to hi. He stills e-mails or IM's to wish me good luck and asks me if it's OK to show up. This guy knows me 12 years and needs to ask me to come to a show? He is a gentleman.

SSCW is up and coming, and carmine is so PC it makes me sick but we are major league tight and close friends.

CSWF is a bunch of money marks with bad intentions. They overpay the boys looking to get loyalty and they can't book a story in a library. I don't know anyone other then Levy but he is two-faced and not to be trusted. I know for a fact they have called every building i have ever run the day after to try and steal it.

BWO school run by Richie Rotten: Richie and I went to Pre K together all the way thru high school. He is as good a friend as a guy can ever ask for. Richie did a lot to assist my brother who was a bit of a trouble maker in school and Richie was a football coach at Lodi High and went out of his way to protect and guide my brother and for that he will always get my respect.

Clothesline: What about the United Wrestling Syndicate group?

Ricky O: Rick Silvers group? Rick Silver and had a major falling out a few years ago about a topic I don't want to rehash. I no longer hold a grudge, but not friends either.

Clothesline: No, the whole joining of SSCW NWS JCW and a few others- I assume since the name didn't ring a bell it's not going anywhere?

Ricky O: Carmine and I are doing things as we speak- huge news in next few weeks. But Joe (Panzarino) is out. Joe took Gino's (Moore) mouth and troublemaking over friendship and working together.

Clothesline: On a final note- what is the best thing you hope to achieve with JCW?

Ricky O: Just to have more guys get noticed and signed this year. JCW had guys make it to OVW and WWE TV, and now with breakout stars like Jay Lethal and a few others, I am sure the mainstream press will notice us more. Lifelong workers like Inferno need to get their names out and make it this year, and with the new tag team The Hybrids, him and Wenzel will be signed. Mark my words- I said it about Livewyre and was right this team is the shit.

Dude, I spell like a retarded 3 yr old monkey. Quote me on that.

Clothesline: Will do, and thanks for taking the time to do this!

When using any of this information give proper credit to Cactusb and the Wrestling Clothesline at http://www.wrestlingclothesline.com

Questions? Comments? Results? Wrestling Related items? Send them to us at WresClothesline@aol.com. If we use them on the page you will be given full credit for supplying us with it!

We're just a bunch of guys having fun and not making money off this stuff.