| Apr. 17th, 2008 @ 11:00 pm The STLWC Interviews the Promoter of Heartland Wrestling Assocation |
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CF: For those unfamiliar with HWA, tell us about the organization, who were the founders and how long have they been in operation.
CD: The HWA was founded in 1996ish by Les Thatcher and Brady Laber. I came onto the scene in 2001 right before the WWE developmental deal and me and a couple others bought the HWA in 2003. From there we got a TV slot on the America One network and produced 3 internet PPV's. After a falling out with the other owner, it is now owned by me. We were always a Cincinnati based promotion but now we are looking to hit several markets.
CF: Now I've heard a lot of things about Les Thatcher as many people have sought him our for wrestling knowledge and to learn skills in the ring. What made him so successful and sought after in the business?
CD: He is a very detailed trainer and was a skilled wrestler in the day. He doesn't accept excuses and doesn’t have time for BS and will tell it like it is. And he has adapted with the wrestling game as it has changed... for the most part. If people are serious about getting better then he will get you better or make you cry.
CF: Fairly recently WWE decided cut its ties with OVW as a developmental terrority, knowing what happened with HWA is WWE making a mistake by putting everything in Florida with their minor league system?
CD: I don't know if it is a mistake or not. But from everything I know about Florida they are making it a serious training grounds and a viable territory. My biggest problem with OVW and HWA back in the day was they didn't go out and promote themselves as well as they should have. With that kind of backing you should be able to make big things happen. I have been to OVW and I know Danny Davis is a serious trainer and only time will tell if 1 developmental is good or not.
CF: HWA has been primarily an Ohio-based promotion, and this will be the first time you've run in Illinois. What lured you to play in Peoria?
CD: I live here. I always wanted to run here when I lived in Cincinnati and without having someone here on the ground to head up the promotion end, it just never came to be.
CF: Interesting to hear you're a resident of Peoria. How often do you plan to run in Peoria and which other cities are you looking to run in?
CD: Right now we are running every other month or so, once the fall hits we plan on running every month. Once TV is set in stone I would guess the Quad Cities is next on our list.... or where our marketing company says they have the dollars to back it up.
CF: So tell us about yourself, what were your first memories of wrestling?
CD: My name is Chad Dillefeld, I'm 38, I work in TV, and I'm a wrestling fan.
My first memories of wrestling is watching with my father on Saturday afternoons I believe. I believe it was Verne Gagne's with the Crusher, the Bruiser, Mad Dog Vachon and stuff like that. Then my first live show I was 4 or 5 and I went to Alice Ingersoll Gymnasium in Canton, IL to watch a live show with Superstar Billy Graham and the show scared me to death.
CF: Wait, why'd the show scare you to death? Were you like sitting in the front row or what?
CD: Yes. and at that age and the way the characters were bigger than life scared the hell out of me. And at the time the business wasn't exposed so they played it to the hilt and you really believed what was going on. It was just a lot different than watching from the safety of your living room.
CF: How did you get into the wrestling business and get into promoting?
CD: In 2001 I got some editing equipment and needed some projects to get better. Les Thatcher had a radio show on in Cincinnati and I knew he ran shows. So I contacted him and told him of my TV background and the relationship started. Then when the WWE developmental deal was up the company couldn't continue to run like it had with the WWE's backing and rather than change Les decided he was getting out. So we got a group of 3 of us who already worked at the company together and put an offer forward. So in August of 2003 we signed the papers. And now I am the last of those 3 that bought it from Les who are still with the HWA.
CF: So Les Thatcher is no longer with HWA? Where is he today?
CD: He still lives in Cincinnati. He writes and reports for PWInsider, does camps. I still see him from time to time, he gives me his take on what we are currently doing.
CF: How do you see the wrestling scene in general right now? Good, bad, or indifferent? How does the scene differ in Cincinnati from Chicago, St. Louis or Indianapolis?
CD: I think there are too many wrestling feds right now. I understand that you should be able to chase your dreams but some just give independent wrestling a bad name. On a national level with WWE and TNA doing decent in house shows I see that as a positive. You know what is best for indy wrestling right now is the WWE touring overseas so much... in 3 ways. First they make more money which is strong for the business. Second they open overseas markets up to wrestling which means they may buy DVD's and online product. Third it means the WWE is only going to visit towns in the US maybe once a year and some once every two years and that is good for indy companies because the fans that want wrestling will be that much more likely to check out an indy show with no WWE in town.
The scene in Cincinnati is good if not a little overcrowded. You have the HWA, NWF, NEW, Buckeye Pro, EGO and 2XWF. The only good thing about this is they all kind of have different ways of doing business. I would say Indianapolis all of a sudden went from having one fed to four overnight which isn't good for business. Chicago looks really crowded with AAW being the crown jewel. From the St. Louis board I don't see a lot going on down there. I am sure the athletic commission in MO has something to do with that. And the middle of the state seems to have one fed per bigger city.
CF: This isn't actually the first time HWA has had some role in central Illinois wrestling, years ago HWA was sending talent to help develop the roster of New Midwest Wrestling back in 2000/2001. Could we see any of that start happening again with the current central Illinois promotions or the St. Louis area?
CD: I am open to anything. As long as they pay our guys, it is fine with me since I have no exclusivity with any of our guys. We run as a separate entity from other promotions in the area and there are some things I can't change or move for others... like the date of our first show. We run double shots with Cincinnati running the Friday and Peoria on Saturday. Because of that I have to have the buildings cleared and the talent cleared so it isn't easy for me to change things.
CF: Who are the most well known names coming out of HWA that made it to WWE or TNA or ROH?
CD: During the developmental times you saw everything and everyone in our building. But if you are talking about 100% homegrown talent I would say SharkBoy, Nigel McGuinness, BJ Whitmer, Irish Airborne and there are another dozen or so that have or have had a developmental deal. We have a very rich heritage to work with.
CF: Who are the local area names that are appearing?
CD: This first show we are using the Hybrids who have worked alot in this area and the Phoenix Twins. The Irish Airborne recommended the Hybrids so we put them on our last show and were very impressed with them. We needed another tag team for this show so I went out searching the area for the best I could find and found the Phoenix Twins. They also come highly recommended. That is it for this first show. Our core guys will travel with us and in the future we may use more local guys but only the crème of the crop. And with all the shows on the 26th I didn't feel it was right to pick off peoples talent. The best will naturally migrate to us anyway.
CF: Now with a promotion running for the first time in a completely new area, there's the issue of attracting a crowd that more than likely may not be familiar with the promotion or the talent. Plus its head-to-head with two other shows in Peoria. How do you get around that?
CD: I run TV spots, radio, flyer and tell everyone I know to come check out the show. I also have a 2-hour TV show from 3-5pm the night of the show on My59 in Peoria and the My Network station in the Quad Cities as well. The "smart" fans I assume will check out our show because of the talent level. Top to bottom our card is going to be good and our talent is pumped to get a new crowd. If we don't win the fans over with our show... then I guess they couldn't be won over. I don't like going head to head, because obviously it splinters the crowd but we had delayed coming here until now and we can't delay anymore.
CF: The main event will be Nigel McGuiness vs. Chris Hero, two men that actually squared off before in a 2/3 fall matchup right here in Peoria back in May 2005 for FIST wrestling that I had the pleasure of witnessing. How do you see the rematch of sorts going down?
CD: I already had Nigel booked for Cincinnati and it only made sense to have him in Peoria as well. And I figured the best match-up I had on paper was against Chris Hero. I saw that FIST card was pretty stacked but they didn't promote it very well. I know that the two highest profile people squaring off head-to-head is the best way to go... especially after they just got done with a feud in RoH this winter, and I also have to appeal to the DVD buying market with our DVD's available on SmartMark Video, Highspots.com and Hwaonline.com. I see a classic old school match with this one. And in general on the card I tried to give the crowd some of everything. With Kimera vs. DieHard you have that crazy hardcore stuff a certain section of the crowd loves. With the 6-man scramble you get some fast paced cruiserweight action. And with all the other matches you get a little something different.
CF: Now for the local talent appearing, what are the Hybrids up against when facing the GP Code, and what are the Phoenix Twins up against facing the Osirian Portal?
CD: The Hybrids faced the GP Code at HWA Outbreak in a 3-way tag match but they weren't involved in the pinfall, so they now get there chance one-on-one with the champs. The GP Code are big fan favorites and a great team. You have Andre Heart a high flying but hard hitting speedster and Deja Vu a 6'5 370 big man who can hit hard and really move in the ring. I think the hardest thing for the Hybrids to overcome is the big man, if they can take him out and go after the smaller Heart they then have a real chance at taking the HWA Titles.
I am really looking forward to the Pheonix Twins. But they are taking on the unorthodox tag team of the Osirian Portal from the land of Chikara. Anything coming out of Chikara has some mystery surrounding it. One guy is a snake and the other is a funky Pharoah..... and they have come to this time through a time portal..... enough said.
CF: Last but not least, where can fans get tickets to this first Illinois HWA event?
CD: Either at the door or at our website www.hwaonline.com there you will be able to get directions and the complete card rundown and anything else you might need. Also check out our myspace out www.myspace.com/hwareborn
Tickets are $15 for front row, $12 GA day of show or $10 GA if you buy them at hwaonline.Com
Hope to see everyone out at the show, for more information or directions (will be up soon) go to www.hwaonline.com
Thanks
Chad Dillefeld
HWA Wrestling |
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OBIT: STL Wrestling Hall of Famer