Force One Pro Wrestling.
In late 2006, I met with my good friend Ironman Tommy Cairo, one of the ECW originals, and a former business partner of mine in the Outlaws of Wrestling. We met at a small warehouse in Egg Harbor City to discuss putting together a wrestling promotion and a school that would feed our promotion with new talent. Problem was, neither of us had working capital to "do it right"
I'd been out of wrestling since 2002, since I was in the process of getting married to my then wife Carla. I had been promoted at work several months before, and I thought it was a great time to leave the business, so I could devote more time to my family, and job.
So, imagine me sitting in this warehouse, with Cairo, and another ECW worker, The Equalizer, discussing what was going to take place in the future. We were going to call it Force One Pro Wrestling. Cairo liked the sound of that, it had a Japan feel to it........we started formulating how we were going to make a go of it.
We got a few students right away, Matt McCorkle, and Carlos Rivera, and went to work. Both kids were really talented, Matt (Ryu Lee) a true student of the game, who reminded me of Dean Malenko in how serious he was, and Rivera, the strong guy, who could do things most big guys couldn't do. We put a game plan together to train them, and they were a success, and we used them to showcase what we could do with raw talent. We did it again later with Josh Adams and others, showing that a game plan and hard work is a recipe for success.
We were on a fast track, and ran our first show in May of 2007. We were a hit. We drew a few hundred, Cairo sold sponsorhsips by selling himself, and we made money. We had no stars except the guys who worked for us in the past, Rockin Rebel, the Equalizer, and a few others. We also brought in talent from other organizations who we felt were being underutilized. And we did it successfully.
Fast forward to 2008, and the numbers started to decline a bit. We went into a few new venues, thinking we might just need some fresh areas to run. Some were old areas that used to have a good indy wrestling base. Well, with the recession, that base dried up a bit. We were still drawing numbers, but not like the 400+ that we started to draw in 2007.
Tensions began to rise in 2009. Everyone had a better plan. I wanted to stay the course. After all, the most successful organizations always plan their work, and work their plan. Did the WWE switch gears because fewer people were coming to their shows? I don't think so.
But somehow, some people who we gave some authority to seemed to think so. We lost focus on training the kids, we started to bring in "names" in an effort to draw bigger crowds. Only problem was, the crowds weren't there. There was a recession going on, and F! wasn't bringing in what it used to. By February of 2009, we worked with NWA senior referee Fred Richards (Rubenstein) and became an NWA affiliate. Even that couldn't help bring in the crowds.
Right around that time (April, 2009), my wife and I were in the process of separating. I was stressing big time, and that, combined with the "what about me?" attitude I'd seen at Force One around then, caused me to rip some of the guys a new asshole about the cliques, and bad attitudes towards some of the guys. Most responded well, but I got a message from one of the worker's WIVES, who blasted me, since I knew nothing.
I've managed people all of my life. I ran a staff of 9 people when I worked for RCA. I had many employees in my own business. I work in sales. I know how to motivate people! So, I was incensed upon reading this message from someone whose connection to the business was riding to the shows with her husband and selling his t-shirts. During her time, she did have a few suggestions, but then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I wrote her back and ripped her, to which she responded to me by saying that maybe my wife wouldn't be leaving if I hadn't tried to put myself over in Force One. So, my family was ruined, and she said it was because I was trying to put myself over? I had my radio/internet show for several years. I had great guests on, and the reason my show was successful (over 20,000 weekly listeners) wasn't because I was trying to put myself over, I went through great pains to ensure that all of my guests were put over BY ME!!! I had that same attitude in Force One. Make others the star, and you'll become a star as well.
I could have fought it out with the husband of the idiot who tried to railroad me, but it wouldn't have been good for Force One. I called Tommy Cairo, and told him I was leaving. Cairo, who was going through his own personal crisis, couldn't put the effort into it to cover the loss of me, and thought the best thing to do would be to sign F1 over to one of the younger guys.
What happened over the next few months to me looked like a complete dismantling of what we worked so hard to create. It was sad. People were owed money, venues weren't paid in full, workers were shorted, and then let go. These were some of the guys who worked hard in building Force One. They would have done anything they were told to do. The new regime said the old regime was taking money of the sponsorship funds, but the new ownership had an agreement to pay the old regime funds, and were behind on them. Things were tough, but instead of confronting the issues with people they owed, they ran.......egos are a big part of the wrestling business, and the new regime's ego wouldn't allow them to admit that they failed as the new owners.
So, they began to reach out to the old regime.....me, Cairo, and a few others. They asked me to come to a meeting this week to see if I would consider a return. I had some stipulations. I owned the website, and I didn't want anything changed without my approval. I had a game plan to return F1 to success. I wanted certain people back. I wasn't looking so much for financial compensation, that would come if the gates increa$ed. I wanted the same input I had before I left. Problem was, the new regime wouldn't give me that.
Imagine my surprise when I'm told that my function would be Force One's Good Will Ambassador, the guy who'd reach out to the internet press (which my relationships with certain folks go back 13 -14 years), do radio and internet shows, and promote the F1 events all over. Where's my business acumen being utilized? How about my creative input? How about my organizational skills? No, we have other kids who are doing that now, but we sure want you back, Phil!
No you didn't. You reached out to everyone, and one guy caught your eye (or wallet), and has now taken over. He's very talented. He's a great worker, I've watched a lot of him of late, as I was preparing for my return to F1, and wanted to make sure I had everyone in mind as I planned the future.
Here's the problem, no one there now can run the business known as Force One.
The ultimate slap in the face came today, as I went to the F1 website to get more show info to send out to my friends who would cover the show on their sites.
The new regime put a post up on MY website, the one I created (with Brandon Green), and paid for, that said
"OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW! Force 1 now has a new website! www.force1pro.com
CHECK IT OUT!"
My money, my website, and a kick in the ass for all of my hard work since that day in late 2006 with Cairo. Most of you who really know me know that I'm not a cocky guy, but if you went to a Force One Pro Wrestling show, you were entertained. And, you all knew that I was the straw that stirred the drink at F1. I still get messages from the kids saying that my presence is missed. The guys who were "dumped" by Force One have begged me to come back and run some shows, in areas where F1 runs, just to show them how its done. I'm not like that, and I pray that the kids that spend their time training at the facility can showcase their talents with the new regime, so I won't be running shows head to head with them.
Personally, I think they will self implode. If you don't plan your work and work your plan, you will never be successful.
They do have a really cool new website, though.
In the words of my old friend Dennis Coralluzzo, "see you in hell".
Goodbye Force One........
I'd been out of wrestling since 2002, since I was in the process of getting married to my then wife Carla. I had been promoted at work several months before, and I thought it was a great time to leave the business, so I could devote more time to my family, and job.
So, imagine me sitting in this warehouse, with Cairo, and another ECW worker, The Equalizer, discussing what was going to take place in the future. We were going to call it Force One Pro Wrestling. Cairo liked the sound of that, it had a Japan feel to it........we started formulating how we were going to make a go of it.
We got a few students right away, Matt McCorkle, and Carlos Rivera, and went to work. Both kids were really talented, Matt (Ryu Lee) a true student of the game, who reminded me of Dean Malenko in how serious he was, and Rivera, the strong guy, who could do things most big guys couldn't do. We put a game plan together to train them, and they were a success, and we used them to showcase what we could do with raw talent. We did it again later with Josh Adams and others, showing that a game plan and hard work is a recipe for success.
We were on a fast track, and ran our first show in May of 2007. We were a hit. We drew a few hundred, Cairo sold sponsorhsips by selling himself, and we made money. We had no stars except the guys who worked for us in the past, Rockin Rebel, the Equalizer, and a few others. We also brought in talent from other organizations who we felt were being underutilized. And we did it successfully.
Fast forward to 2008, and the numbers started to decline a bit. We went into a few new venues, thinking we might just need some fresh areas to run. Some were old areas that used to have a good indy wrestling base. Well, with the recession, that base dried up a bit. We were still drawing numbers, but not like the 400+ that we started to draw in 2007.
Tensions began to rise in 2009. Everyone had a better plan. I wanted to stay the course. After all, the most successful organizations always plan their work, and work their plan. Did the WWE switch gears because fewer people were coming to their shows? I don't think so.
But somehow, some people who we gave some authority to seemed to think so. We lost focus on training the kids, we started to bring in "names" in an effort to draw bigger crowds. Only problem was, the crowds weren't there. There was a recession going on, and F! wasn't bringing in what it used to. By February of 2009, we worked with NWA senior referee Fred Richards (Rubenstein) and became an NWA affiliate. Even that couldn't help bring in the crowds.
Right around that time (April, 2009), my wife and I were in the process of separating. I was stressing big time, and that, combined with the "what about me?" attitude I'd seen at Force One around then, caused me to rip some of the guys a new asshole about the cliques, and bad attitudes towards some of the guys. Most responded well, but I got a message from one of the worker's WIVES, who blasted me, since I knew nothing.
I've managed people all of my life. I ran a staff of 9 people when I worked for RCA. I had many employees in my own business. I work in sales. I know how to motivate people! So, I was incensed upon reading this message from someone whose connection to the business was riding to the shows with her husband and selling his t-shirts. During her time, she did have a few suggestions, but then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I wrote her back and ripped her, to which she responded to me by saying that maybe my wife wouldn't be leaving if I hadn't tried to put myself over in Force One. So, my family was ruined, and she said it was because I was trying to put myself over? I had my radio/internet show for several years. I had great guests on, and the reason my show was successful (over 20,000 weekly listeners) wasn't because I was trying to put myself over, I went through great pains to ensure that all of my guests were put over BY ME!!! I had that same attitude in Force One. Make others the star, and you'll become a star as well.
I could have fought it out with the husband of the idiot who tried to railroad me, but it wouldn't have been good for Force One. I called Tommy Cairo, and told him I was leaving. Cairo, who was going through his own personal crisis, couldn't put the effort into it to cover the loss of me, and thought the best thing to do would be to sign F1 over to one of the younger guys.
What happened over the next few months to me looked like a complete dismantling of what we worked so hard to create. It was sad. People were owed money, venues weren't paid in full, workers were shorted, and then let go. These were some of the guys who worked hard in building Force One. They would have done anything they were told to do. The new regime said the old regime was taking money of the sponsorship funds, but the new ownership had an agreement to pay the old regime funds, and were behind on them. Things were tough, but instead of confronting the issues with people they owed, they ran.......egos are a big part of the wrestling business, and the new regime's ego wouldn't allow them to admit that they failed as the new owners.
So, they began to reach out to the old regime.....me, Cairo, and a few others. They asked me to come to a meeting this week to see if I would consider a return. I had some stipulations. I owned the website, and I didn't want anything changed without my approval. I had a game plan to return F1 to success. I wanted certain people back. I wasn't looking so much for financial compensation, that would come if the gates increa$ed. I wanted the same input I had before I left. Problem was, the new regime wouldn't give me that.
Imagine my surprise when I'm told that my function would be Force One's Good Will Ambassador, the guy who'd reach out to the internet press (which my relationships with certain folks go back 13 -14 years), do radio and internet shows, and promote the F1 events all over. Where's my business acumen being utilized? How about my creative input? How about my organizational skills? No, we have other kids who are doing that now, but we sure want you back, Phil!
No you didn't. You reached out to everyone, and one guy caught your eye (or wallet), and has now taken over. He's very talented. He's a great worker, I've watched a lot of him of late, as I was preparing for my return to F1, and wanted to make sure I had everyone in mind as I planned the future.
Here's the problem, no one there now can run the business known as Force One.
The ultimate slap in the face came today, as I went to the F1 website to get more show info to send out to my friends who would cover the show on their sites.
The new regime put a post up on MY website, the one I created (with Brandon Green), and paid for, that said
"OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW! Force 1 now has a new website! www.force1pro.com
CHECK IT OUT!"
My money, my website, and a kick in the ass for all of my hard work since that day in late 2006 with Cairo. Most of you who really know me know that I'm not a cocky guy, but if you went to a Force One Pro Wrestling show, you were entertained. And, you all knew that I was the straw that stirred the drink at F1. I still get messages from the kids saying that my presence is missed. The guys who were "dumped" by Force One have begged me to come back and run some shows, in areas where F1 runs, just to show them how its done. I'm not like that, and I pray that the kids that spend their time training at the facility can showcase their talents with the new regime, so I won't be running shows head to head with them.
Personally, I think they will self implode. If you don't plan your work and work your plan, you will never be successful.
They do have a really cool new website, though.
In the words of my old friend Dennis Coralluzzo, "see you in hell".
Goodbye Force One........
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE A STATEMENT FROM FORMER NWA /FORCE ONE OWNER "IRONMAN" TOMMY CAIRO SOON.
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