14.01.2004, 18:38
Auf Slamwrestling.ca steht ein grosser Artikel ueber Scotty Mac und die ECCW.Also wer mehr ueber die ECCW erfahren will dann koennt ihr den Artikel durchlesen
Scotty Mac: ECCW's franchise player
At the bar, Scott is a friendly, humble bartender. But when he dons a pair of shiny pants, he becomes Scotty Mac, a wildly popular pretty boy that teenage girls scream for at the Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling shows around British Columbia.
"It is part of being me. I play up to it, to pretty much everything that goes on out there. I am not doing anything specifically to get girls excited. I go out and do what I want to do and it gets that reaction," Scotty Mac told SLAM! Wrestling. "I guess that a lot of my fan base is female, but I do want to come across cool enough that the guys can cheer for me too. A 17-year-old guy should be happy about cheering for me as much as a girl. I cheered for a lot of heels in my teenage years, I realize that is what is in, but I want to be a cool enough face to appeal to more than teenage girls."
His wrestling career started in Edmonton in 1999. At the time, Can-Am Wrestling was one of the more active promotions in Western Canada and had a training camp in Edmonton. Scott did a handful of training sessions with Steve Wilde, Steve Gillespie and Vinnie Fever. However he didn't like the atmosphere.
"It wasn't very positive or encouraging and I didn't know if I was doing a good job or not," Scotty Mac said. "I grew up thinking 'this is what I want to do, this is my dream' and training with them I didn't know if there was even a reason for me to be there. So I left."
From there he moved back to Richmond, B.C. and started attending shows promoted by ICW, run by Timothy Flowers, and ECCW shows which Michelle Starr ran. Still wanting to pursue his dream, he spoke with members of both companies about getting started.
"There wasn't a lot that stood out between the shows, but what made me decide to train with ECCW was the way that they talked to me when I approached them. Flowers didn't seem interested at all, whereas Starr, Juggernaut, Rockford and other members of the roster were interested in me."
With the decision made, he joined the House of Pain, ECCW's training camp run by Chance Beckett, with Starr and Juggernaut also involved in the training. With such a varied amount of trainers Scott learned to be adaptable.
"I am one of those guys who can work with anybody. People often see me go into matches with a guy like Moondog Manson or Juggernaut, bigger hardcore wrestlers, and think that our styles are too different and it won't work. That isn't the case, it is exciting to me to be able to work a different type of match every night. It's much better that way. Training under different guys helped that."
He picked up the art of wrestling quickly and started working student shows at the House of Pain within a few months. He was set to debut in ECCW against Beckett on December 26, 2000. While practicing a springboard dropkick a few weeks before, he broke his wrist, but was determined to go through with his debut.
"I got my cast off on the 24th and wrestled Beckett in Bridgeview two days later. I would have wrestled anyone, but it was nice that it was Chance because I trusted him. It was exciting to wrestle my trainer in my first real match."
From that point on Mac was a regular on shows working his way up the card. ECCW suffered a major blow in the beginning of 2002 when one of its most popular stars, Juggernaut as well as its biggest heel, Dr. Luther, both left the promotion. The wrestling business also experienced a downswing at that time, so ECCW and other promotions were drawing less. But the loss of Luther and Juggernaut meant something else.
"It meant that they had to put a green guy named Scotty Mac at the top of the card," he laughed. "They had nobody built up for that position so I had to move into it really quickly. I didn't know if I was ready at the time, but was willing to give it a shot. A lot of people may have been put into positions they weren't ready for. Not only did the midcard guys have to move up to the top spot, but the new guys had to step up to the midcard."
Suddenly at the top of the company, Scotty was put into a three-month program with "Black Dragon" Bret Como that culminated in a Steel Cage match in which Mac did a legdrop from the top of the cage and beat Dragon for his first NWA/ECCW Title. It was an important moment for Scotty.
"We'd done a program over about three months, and the matches got better every time. I know when I wrestle him, not only will I have a great match but I will have a great time. He has become one of my closest friends in the business, and I look up to him like no one else. He didn't question the fact that I was going over him for the title, and for him to be cool like that was a big compliment to me."
From that point on the pressure was on Scotty as the company continued to promote despite smaller crowds.
"I was more than willing to accept it, and still I am. I love my spot in the company and playing such a prominent role. I can't take responsibility for low attendance because I know when I have left the ring, I have given people my part of the show. There has never been a time when I haven't felt like I have given the fans what they deserve. The crowds have been up and down, but crowds have been going down everywhere, even in WWE. Wrestling isn't on a high right now, so we aren't drawing like we used to. We did lose a lot of talent at that time, and we are now getting to the point that there are enough guys who know their way around the ring that we can put together a large show again."
The ECCW title has an impressive lineage. Some of the best talent in Canada have held the title, including Chance Beckett, Ladies Choice, Michelle Starr, Doc Luther, Juggernaut, former WWF star Kurrgan, and Black Dragon. At 5-foot-9 and 191 pounds he is smaller then some of his predecessors but works hard to prove himself and is proud to be continuing on the legacy.
"I am really proud of the ECCW title. We are in a time where titles aren't recognized enough as something prestigious and are called 'props' and to an extent they are. At the same time if a company has you as their champion, then you obviously mean something to them. I look at the title that way, and looking at the list of guys who have held the title, I admire and look up to each of them for different reasons. I was sad when Dr. Luther said he was retiring, because he was definitely one of the best ECCW champs ever."
ECCW has offered a lot to the youngster, giving him high profile matches and big wins. In January 2003 the promotion held their annual "Pacific Cup" a two-day tournament with a lot of the top names in the Pacific Northwest. Scott won early round matches over Beckett, Tony Kozina and Black Dragon before beating "American Dragon" Brian Danielson, one of the top independent wrestlers in the world today, in the finals.
"That was such a feeling of accomplishment. Kozina, Dragon and Beckett, I couldn't have been happier just facing them. They are my three favorite guys to work so it was my dream tournament. Then to add a guy like American Dragon on top of it in the finals was a treat and an experience in itself. He is able to have such impact, yet is so safe at the same time. I feel lucky to have wrestled the talent that I have since I started with ECCW."
Danielson wasn't the first big name that Mac has been privileged to wrestle. He successfully defended the NWA Pacific Junior-Heavyweight title against Christopher Daniels in 2001, another top independent star. It is important to Scotty that he performs well in his victories.
"I went over Daniels which was difficult. Much like beating American Dragon in the Pacific Cup, I didn't want fans leaving going 'Scotty Mac shouldn't have won that.' It was important to me to put out strong performances against them because I never want to have beating someone being questioned. When I was working guys like Kozina and Adam Firestorm and Daniels in my first six months, a lot of people I think may have had a problem with that. Some people in the business questioned putting me over guys with so much respect, but I don't think it was ever questioned by the fans. I kept up and was able to convincingly beat these guys."
A few months ago he had another big opportunity when he wrestled a singles match and a triple-threat match with former WWF star The Honky Tonk Man. He lost the first match but pinned Ladies Choice in the second.
"It was an experience working him, he was very helpful and I learned a lot. I remember getting into the ring and I was in one corner and he was in the opposite one and I was marking out to myself. It was a feeling of personal accomplishment standing across the ring from 'The greatest Intercontinental champion of all time.'"
ECCW is an affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance, and thus has connections with other members of the organization, including TNA, to bring in talent as they have in the past. Mac would love the chance to test himself and learn from more of the great talent that is on the indy circuit today.
"I have looked up to Jeff Jarrett for a long time and would love to wrestle him. I'd heard we were trying to bring him in, but he is a pretty busy guy so it hasn't happened yet. I keep hoping. He is the sort of worker I want to be, who can work a variety of styles and work with anyone. He, Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart were big influences on me. A.J. Styles would also be a treat to work with."
Mac also listed a surprising choice.
"I'd love to wrestle Ed Leslie," he said seriously. "To wrestle Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake would be awesome. I'd even let him cut my hair. Any of the vets that are still working the circuit I would love to work just for the learning experience. However I feel so lucky to have just worked with the talent I have so far."
During Scott's early days in the promotion, ECCW was one of the top touring companies in North America, doing over 200 shows a year. They were able to bring in some major names such as former ECW stars Sabu, Steve Corino and Tommy Dreamer. He shared some anecdotes about his experiences.
"I was a part of 'The Prettyboys Club' with Chance Beckett and Rockford at that point in time, and we were lower-card players when we had Steve Corino in. Chance and Rockford would make comments at him, but when the time came to back it up I was thrown to the wolves and took the 'Old School Expulsion.' That was a big mark out moment for me, I had only been wrestling a few months at the time. With my shiny pants and spiky blonde hair, Corino took to calling me 'Mini Double-J,'" It was a big thrill to take the move. "At the time with how new I was it really was a big deal to be on shows with them. I didn't wrestle any of them, but to even be involved in an angle with someone like Corino that I had watched on TV was huge to me."
Scotty Mac: ECCW's franchise player
At the bar, Scott is a friendly, humble bartender. But when he dons a pair of shiny pants, he becomes Scotty Mac, a wildly popular pretty boy that teenage girls scream for at the Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling shows around British Columbia.
"It is part of being me. I play up to it, to pretty much everything that goes on out there. I am not doing anything specifically to get girls excited. I go out and do what I want to do and it gets that reaction," Scotty Mac told SLAM! Wrestling. "I guess that a lot of my fan base is female, but I do want to come across cool enough that the guys can cheer for me too. A 17-year-old guy should be happy about cheering for me as much as a girl. I cheered for a lot of heels in my teenage years, I realize that is what is in, but I want to be a cool enough face to appeal to more than teenage girls."
His wrestling career started in Edmonton in 1999. At the time, Can-Am Wrestling was one of the more active promotions in Western Canada and had a training camp in Edmonton. Scott did a handful of training sessions with Steve Wilde, Steve Gillespie and Vinnie Fever. However he didn't like the atmosphere.
"It wasn't very positive or encouraging and I didn't know if I was doing a good job or not," Scotty Mac said. "I grew up thinking 'this is what I want to do, this is my dream' and training with them I didn't know if there was even a reason for me to be there. So I left."
From there he moved back to Richmond, B.C. and started attending shows promoted by ICW, run by Timothy Flowers, and ECCW shows which Michelle Starr ran. Still wanting to pursue his dream, he spoke with members of both companies about getting started.
"There wasn't a lot that stood out between the shows, but what made me decide to train with ECCW was the way that they talked to me when I approached them. Flowers didn't seem interested at all, whereas Starr, Juggernaut, Rockford and other members of the roster were interested in me."
With the decision made, he joined the House of Pain, ECCW's training camp run by Chance Beckett, with Starr and Juggernaut also involved in the training. With such a varied amount of trainers Scott learned to be adaptable.
"I am one of those guys who can work with anybody. People often see me go into matches with a guy like Moondog Manson or Juggernaut, bigger hardcore wrestlers, and think that our styles are too different and it won't work. That isn't the case, it is exciting to me to be able to work a different type of match every night. It's much better that way. Training under different guys helped that."
He picked up the art of wrestling quickly and started working student shows at the House of Pain within a few months. He was set to debut in ECCW against Beckett on December 26, 2000. While practicing a springboard dropkick a few weeks before, he broke his wrist, but was determined to go through with his debut.
"I got my cast off on the 24th and wrestled Beckett in Bridgeview two days later. I would have wrestled anyone, but it was nice that it was Chance because I trusted him. It was exciting to wrestle my trainer in my first real match."
From that point on Mac was a regular on shows working his way up the card. ECCW suffered a major blow in the beginning of 2002 when one of its most popular stars, Juggernaut as well as its biggest heel, Dr. Luther, both left the promotion. The wrestling business also experienced a downswing at that time, so ECCW and other promotions were drawing less. But the loss of Luther and Juggernaut meant something else.
"It meant that they had to put a green guy named Scotty Mac at the top of the card," he laughed. "They had nobody built up for that position so I had to move into it really quickly. I didn't know if I was ready at the time, but was willing to give it a shot. A lot of people may have been put into positions they weren't ready for. Not only did the midcard guys have to move up to the top spot, but the new guys had to step up to the midcard."
Suddenly at the top of the company, Scotty was put into a three-month program with "Black Dragon" Bret Como that culminated in a Steel Cage match in which Mac did a legdrop from the top of the cage and beat Dragon for his first NWA/ECCW Title. It was an important moment for Scotty.
"We'd done a program over about three months, and the matches got better every time. I know when I wrestle him, not only will I have a great match but I will have a great time. He has become one of my closest friends in the business, and I look up to him like no one else. He didn't question the fact that I was going over him for the title, and for him to be cool like that was a big compliment to me."
From that point on the pressure was on Scotty as the company continued to promote despite smaller crowds.
"I was more than willing to accept it, and still I am. I love my spot in the company and playing such a prominent role. I can't take responsibility for low attendance because I know when I have left the ring, I have given people my part of the show. There has never been a time when I haven't felt like I have given the fans what they deserve. The crowds have been up and down, but crowds have been going down everywhere, even in WWE. Wrestling isn't on a high right now, so we aren't drawing like we used to. We did lose a lot of talent at that time, and we are now getting to the point that there are enough guys who know their way around the ring that we can put together a large show again."
The ECCW title has an impressive lineage. Some of the best talent in Canada have held the title, including Chance Beckett, Ladies Choice, Michelle Starr, Doc Luther, Juggernaut, former WWF star Kurrgan, and Black Dragon. At 5-foot-9 and 191 pounds he is smaller then some of his predecessors but works hard to prove himself and is proud to be continuing on the legacy.
"I am really proud of the ECCW title. We are in a time where titles aren't recognized enough as something prestigious and are called 'props' and to an extent they are. At the same time if a company has you as their champion, then you obviously mean something to them. I look at the title that way, and looking at the list of guys who have held the title, I admire and look up to each of them for different reasons. I was sad when Dr. Luther said he was retiring, because he was definitely one of the best ECCW champs ever."
ECCW has offered a lot to the youngster, giving him high profile matches and big wins. In January 2003 the promotion held their annual "Pacific Cup" a two-day tournament with a lot of the top names in the Pacific Northwest. Scott won early round matches over Beckett, Tony Kozina and Black Dragon before beating "American Dragon" Brian Danielson, one of the top independent wrestlers in the world today, in the finals.
"That was such a feeling of accomplishment. Kozina, Dragon and Beckett, I couldn't have been happier just facing them. They are my three favorite guys to work so it was my dream tournament. Then to add a guy like American Dragon on top of it in the finals was a treat and an experience in itself. He is able to have such impact, yet is so safe at the same time. I feel lucky to have wrestled the talent that I have since I started with ECCW."
Danielson wasn't the first big name that Mac has been privileged to wrestle. He successfully defended the NWA Pacific Junior-Heavyweight title against Christopher Daniels in 2001, another top independent star. It is important to Scotty that he performs well in his victories.
"I went over Daniels which was difficult. Much like beating American Dragon in the Pacific Cup, I didn't want fans leaving going 'Scotty Mac shouldn't have won that.' It was important to me to put out strong performances against them because I never want to have beating someone being questioned. When I was working guys like Kozina and Adam Firestorm and Daniels in my first six months, a lot of people I think may have had a problem with that. Some people in the business questioned putting me over guys with so much respect, but I don't think it was ever questioned by the fans. I kept up and was able to convincingly beat these guys."
A few months ago he had another big opportunity when he wrestled a singles match and a triple-threat match with former WWF star The Honky Tonk Man. He lost the first match but pinned Ladies Choice in the second.
"It was an experience working him, he was very helpful and I learned a lot. I remember getting into the ring and I was in one corner and he was in the opposite one and I was marking out to myself. It was a feeling of personal accomplishment standing across the ring from 'The greatest Intercontinental champion of all time.'"
ECCW is an affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance, and thus has connections with other members of the organization, including TNA, to bring in talent as they have in the past. Mac would love the chance to test himself and learn from more of the great talent that is on the indy circuit today.
"I have looked up to Jeff Jarrett for a long time and would love to wrestle him. I'd heard we were trying to bring him in, but he is a pretty busy guy so it hasn't happened yet. I keep hoping. He is the sort of worker I want to be, who can work a variety of styles and work with anyone. He, Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart were big influences on me. A.J. Styles would also be a treat to work with."
Mac also listed a surprising choice.
"I'd love to wrestle Ed Leslie," he said seriously. "To wrestle Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake would be awesome. I'd even let him cut my hair. Any of the vets that are still working the circuit I would love to work just for the learning experience. However I feel so lucky to have just worked with the talent I have so far."
During Scott's early days in the promotion, ECCW was one of the top touring companies in North America, doing over 200 shows a year. They were able to bring in some major names such as former ECW stars Sabu, Steve Corino and Tommy Dreamer. He shared some anecdotes about his experiences.
"I was a part of 'The Prettyboys Club' with Chance Beckett and Rockford at that point in time, and we were lower-card players when we had Steve Corino in. Chance and Rockford would make comments at him, but when the time came to back it up I was thrown to the wolves and took the 'Old School Expulsion.' That was a big mark out moment for me, I had only been wrestling a few months at the time. With my shiny pants and spiky blonde hair, Corino took to calling me 'Mini Double-J,'" It was a big thrill to take the move. "At the time with how new I was it really was a big deal to be on shows with them. I didn't wrestle any of them, but to even be involved in an angle with someone like Corino that I had watched on TV was huge to me."