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Ringside Chat
Interview with The Stro
by Stephen Ciacciarelli
Posted August 14, 2000
Ringside Chat:
Who trained you and who did you face in your first pro match?
Stro: Gene Anderson, Nelson Royal, and Ivan
Koloff against ACW champ L A Stevens.Ringside
Chat: You've worked as Robbie Eagle, Gorgeous
George III and now The Maestro. What have been the highlights of each of these chapters in
your illustrious career?
Stro: As Robbie Eagle
those were the early years wrestling a lot of Veterans as well as meeting a lot of guys
that moved on to great heights in their career like Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Tazz,
Roaddog, Chris Candido, Bobby Blaze, etc. Wrestled many Indy promotions with various
titles here and there as Gorgeous George III. After a match I had against Sting, Steven
Regal came up to me and said that I had a striking resemblance to the original Gorgeous
George. Little did he know that Gorgeous George was in fact my granduncle. The more people
came up to me with the same comparison, the more I seriously started to pay tribute to the
family name and carry on the legacy. Began wrestling for various Indy's as well as a long
run with the USWA out of Tennessee. Tried out with Chris Benoit for the WWF during this
time. Wrestled overseas several times which eventually led me to WCW
Ringside Chat: How much do you spend a year on your gorgeous robes and other ring
attire? Where do you get them?
Stro: the robes have
various price ranges but hundreds of dollars were spent in making them. they were all
custom designed by my taylor Martee'
Ringside Chat: Who do you respect or look up to in the wrestling business?
Stro: The men that are
real wrestling stars and heroes. Guys like Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Bam Bam
Bigelow, Steve Regal, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Perry Saturn,
Hugh Morris, Eddy and Chavo Guerrero etc. Those guys are real men that what you see is
what you get. All of these gentlemen treated me as good as gold during my WCW tenure. I
hope to wrestle with them in the near future. The men that made wrestling what is is
today like the Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Koloff, Lou Thesz, Ric Flair, The Valentines, Killer
Kowalski, Briscos, The Funks, Dusty Rhodes, of course Gorgeous George, etc as well as the
men who set the standard for today's generation
Ringside Chat: What has been your most memorable match so far? Any long-enduring
feuds?
Stro: Had many great
matches ...some with Rob Van Dam, Val Venis, Brian Christopher (Grand Master Sexaay of Too
Cool) , Buff Bagwell, Ron Garvin, Sid Vicious, Jerry Lawler, Wahoo McDaniel, etc. Had some
great tag partners as well..like Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Scott Hall, Viscera,
Greg Valentine, etc. I also have had quite a few interesting feuds, but the one that I
believe the people remember the most is the feud I had with The Cat.
Ringside Chat: You created quite a stir when you went to WCW! What do you think of
the direction the company is currently taking?
Stro: I feel that WCW,
with the right vision, could easily turns things around and be as big as if not better
than they were before. Booker T being WCW World Champion definitely brings class and honor
back to the World title picture. WCW has a phenomenal talent base. The company, instead of
worrying about celebrities and such, should start building the tremendous talent base that
they already have to make it strong. WCW was founded on it's "wrestling" rather
than it's hype. If WCW stops worrying some much about the ratings and start making a
serious effort to improve their wrestling product and start building the great talent that
they already have, then without a doubt it will prosper.
Ringside Chat: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Stro: A household
name. The very best. I have always striven to be the very best. Of course the future has a
lot of unpredictable turns, but GOD willing I will get there.
Ringside Chat: If you could change anything in the sport of professional wrestling
today, what would it be?
Stro: The dirty
politics that goes on behind the scenes. You will always have the cliques and the
favorites to contend with. But a lot of these political swerves aren't necessary.
Especially bringing them to light on TV. This often confuses the people cause they nine
times out of ten have no clue what is going on. People don't care about politics. They
want to be entertained and watch a good wrestling program.
Ringside Chat: Do you have any advice for all the aspiring wrestlers out there who
want to follow in your footsteps?
Stro: Train hard.
Don't ever give up on your dream. Stay healthy and take good care of your body. Learn all
you can from the vets of the business and get as much experience and ring time as you can.
This will help ya greatly.
Ringside Chat: Thank you for your time!
Stro: Thank you and
GOD bless!
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