"The Other Dark Meat" Gotti

Charles E. Brown talks to HWA Superstar "The Other Dark Meat" Gotti.

“The Other Dark Meat” Gotti was interviewed on Friday, October 28, 2005

I just happened to catch you on your lunch break at the gym working out. It’s good to see you again. The Other Dark Meat, thanks for doing this interview. Good to see you again, buddy.

Well, Charles, it’s times like these when I’ve got to say, it’s good to be Gotti. I’m here working out, I’m getting my little swoll going. I got some matches coming up. You know, it’s actually great to see you. How’ve you been?

Well, I’ve been good, Gotti. I’ve got my own Web site and this interview is going to be on it. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of ladies working out. I thought they were looking at me at first but I’m not the one with my shirt off, so I guess it’s you. Like you always say, it’s good to be Gotti.

You know it’s possible. You never know what they want to look at. If you’ve got guns like this and a chest like this, people are going to look. Once again, it’s good to be Gotti! The only problem is there are so many ladies as we all know, Gotti ain’t got time. I try to make time but I can’t. So let’s get this interview on a roll, ask some questions. Go ahead!

Let’s go way back. Where did Gotti come from? What brought you to where you are today?

Well, to be totally honest with you, Charles, it all started in Clayton, North Carolina. I walked in and I met C.W. Anderson, the ECW Enforcer. I was trained by him and Steve Corino helped me get my start. I got a lot of “sub-training” from Shannon Moore, Shane Helms, pretty much the North Carolina clique. I was originally part of the Omega--the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts---then moved up here [Cincinnati, Ohio] in 2001 when the HWA got the developmental contract.

You’re throwing out some pretty big names there. Let’s go back to those days at I.W.I. when I first met you.

Intense Wrestling Incorporated. Yeah, that was my first little stint here in Cincinnati. The best part of every federation, Charles, is that everyone and everything no matter where you are has something good about it. What I liked about the I.W.I. was the fact that they had guys who weren’t afraid of anything. No matter what it was, they’d do whatever it took to get the job done. And if that meant bleeding profusely or risking yourself completely, they would do it. You have great stars there. You have Justin Sane, you had Evil Security Guard--who’s no longer there--, Brett “The Jett” Majors. While I was there, you had Sean Shillelagh. A lot of guys I’ve see later again. I remember you there. I.W.I. has its own little niche in the Cincinnati wrestling world.

It’s also an opportunity to learn from new guys, move on and improve your craft.

That’s the only way to get better. If you step into the ring with the same person all the time you never get better because you’ll only go as far as he can go and pretty much you both reach your limits. When you put a new face in front of you all the time, you’ve got to be as good as that guy or better every time in order to put on a great show.

Let’s move on from I.W.I. Where’d you end up then?

HWA. The Heartland Wrestling Association with Les Thatcher. Wow! What can I say about that? That was the experience of a lifetime. I had a chance to wrestle with some of the greats in the business. I’ve seen stars come through there that I never thought I’d ever get a chance to meet. I met Chris Benoit. You probably heard that story already. I also teamed with Steve Blackman. I had a great, great match with Stevie Richards. It was a great time. Sitting there looking across at Lash LeRoux going, “I’m going to mess you up!“ and then look to your left and having Brock Lesnar looking at you and going, “I’m going to mess you up!” It was a pretty good time. Kind of scary now to think about it. (Laughs)

Yeah, the old “Ragin’ Cajun” Lash LeRoux! I like him. Let’s talk about where you and I meet up again.

Ah, QCW.

Queen City Wrestling. Tell me about that.

Now, Queen City Wrestling was a good time because it was a time for me to actually take a break. I left the HWA for a few months, just veering off to see what else was out there, what other avenues, what other people were out there, what other wrestlers I haven’t beaten yet. At least the ones I haven’t been face to face with yet. And QCW gave me the chance to meet some guys I hadn’t and some guys I had. I mean, you had Sammie Carellie, you had The Bulldog, of course, we had you, we had Phoenix. What a roster. It was a fun time at first. Things started to get a little shaky there and I was about ready to pull up stakes and leave and then of course, things changed. We had new owners with new ideas and so Gotti stuck around for a while. Gotti made time for QCW. He had something new in mind.

Yes he did. Not to mention the fact that he was the Heavyweight Champion.

Ah, that’s always a good thing. It’s a nice thing to be the Champ when you can look at the roster and say, you know what guys? I’m going to break my back for you. I’m going to give everything I have to make sure people know that we’re here and to me, that’s one of the greatest things about being a Champ. Yeah, it’s great to have the big paydays, it’s great to ride in the nice cars, but to know at any given time that every fan here knows you’re the best in this company. And that’s what having that belt represents.

That brings me back to the number one reason why you or any of us did it, the fans.

The fans. And pretty much it’s the only way you can do it. I mean, if you think about it, Charles, where else can I go and make a lot of money playing the angry black guy? That’s the only place I can do it. Let’s say I worked in a factory. If I walk in and start cutting promos on my boss, telling him how much he sucked more than The Other Dark Meat, he’d fire me. This is the only place I can just be me and get paid well to do it.

Photo courtesy of HWA

Right. I agree. You were very good at what you did. Even though we were buddies, there were times when we didn’t see eye to eye but the respect was always there.

That was because the paychecks were from different sides of the fence. When the paychecks come from the same side of the fence, then we can see eye to eye. When the paychecks are opposite, well, that’s a little different then.

Bottom line. The paychecks.

It’s all about the Benjamins.

Let’s fast forward a little bit. Now you’re back at Heartland Wrestling Association. Tell me about a few of the things that are going on over there.

Well, it’s really strange. I left and I came back to find out that The End was about to happen. It seemed like the HWA was about to move to Texas. We had new buyers and new everything else and everything was weird and a lot of guys were about to lose their jobs because they weren’t ready to uproot and move. It was strange, but then a miracle happened. America One Network came. A national TV network said we want the HWA. We want guys like Cody Hawk. We want guys like Matt Stryker and of course, we want The Other Dark Meat. That’s what’s going on there now. We’re going on UPN, coast to coast, nationwide, in the month of November. So for all you people reading, you’ll be able to see us on UPN. You can also go to Adrenaline Nation TV where we started running with them in four slots. So if you want to watch on the Internet, you can actually watch the shows. Not just coast to coast though. This is around the world, it is the Internet.

Where is Gotti? What’s his place in the Company now?

Well, right now I’m looking at the Web site and it says Gotti is ranked #7 for the belt. That’s kind of upsetting to me but then again, I was gone for six months and to come back in and jump right into #7…Well, I did beat Deuce, I did beat Dic Ric—I was kind of confused because they look a lot alike—I did beat Super Zeta, I did beat Brian Beech, and nothing’s going to stop me at the HWA. I have some friends, I have some foes, but all they are stepping stones to get to the HWA Heavyweight Title. Now, I said we have a lot of things going on. Every Tuesday night you can check us out there [HWA Arena]. You can check us out on TV on Thursday nights or Saturday nights if you’re in Dayton. Just grab your TV Guide and look for America One Network.

Gotti’s a wrestling fan. Who’s your favorite wrestler, buddy?

Favorite wrestlers? Oh, wow, we’re going to have to go back a little while. I would say honestly when everyone else was going after the Hulk Hogans and the Ultimate Warriors I was more of a Rick Rude fan. I liked Shawn Michaels, I liked Al Perez, guys like that. Guys who were like, you know what? Not only am I good looking but I can beat you, l can take your woman, and drive away looking good doing it. Those were my type of guys. Guys who did what they had to do to win the match. Now, it’s great, it is really great when you go out there and you’re a good guy for the fans. It’s really awesome. But what’s better is when you win. Because that’s what it really is all about. If Rick Rude had lost every match, no one would remember him but because he won almost all of his matches, he’s an icon in the wrestling business.

My favorite Rick Rude match of all time was Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude in a 30-Minute Iron Man Contest. Tell me about some of your favorite opponents and favorites matches.

Let’s talk about my favorite match. That’s the easiest one for me. Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, first Ladder Match, WrestleMania X. That was the most awesome match I’d ever seen. Shawn Michaels at that time came into his own and showed the world that he was here to stay. Now my favorite opponents…I’ve had a lot so basically, it’s who do I like beating on? Given a chance, I like beating on Deuce, I like beating on Dic Ric--had to throw that Ric in there—I’ve had some really good matches when I was at NEW. I had a couple of good matches with Sammie Carellie, believe it or not. I had a blast wrestling with Sammie Carellie. Loved wrestling with “Sweet Sexy Sensation” Andre Heart, any chance I get to punch on him it’s a good day to be Gotti. Déjà Vu was pretty fun to wrestle.

Tell me about some of the bigger, more high profile matches you’ve had.

I’ve had great matches with Nigel McGuinness, what a wanker. I don’t care what he says. Matt Stryker, of course. Both of these guys you may have seen at Ring of Honor. Nigel is the Pure Champion, which is really strange since I’ve beaten him. I could be the Pure Champion now that I think about it. I mean, if you beat someone and they beat someone to become Champ, doesn’t that make you Champ by proxy?

It makes you the people’s champ!

Yeah, I’m the people’s champ! That’s been used before. Maybe I shouldn’t use that. I’ll think of another one. I’ll get back to you on that. I’m somebody’s champ. Who’s champ am I? We’ll get back to that.

I’ve had great matches. If you want to go back to my past, I’ve had great matches with Jeff Hardy, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore. Locally, Nigel McGuiness, Matt Stryker, Cody Hawk, and believe it or not, “Lightning” Tim Lutz. I love the way the guy works. I had one chance to get into the ring with him and he did really well. I’m looking at a lot of great prospects coming out of Cincinnati right now. There are so many things going on that as long as these guys train hard, keep their mind in the game, the game will take care of them. The problem that we’re having these days with most of these people is that they have no clue what this business is about, they have no clue what the history of the business is about, and the tradition behind it. So if we get back to the way it’s supposed to be, coming back around full circle, everything’s going to be good.

Tell me about what you think is the future. Tell me about TNA. Who do you think will be the big names in a year or two?

First of all, we have to talk about Ron “the Truth” Killings. Seriously, we have to bring him up! The WWE made a big mistake by cutting that boy loose but it was the best thing for him because he now has the chance to showcase his talents. You also have AJ Styles. I mean, the kid’s been around for about 10 years now and there’s nothing he can’t do. He has toppled the giants, he’s gone back and forth with Lucha Libre, he has shown why he is X Division Champ, he has shown why was he was the NWA-TNA Champ, the kid is—and I hate to use the word—the total package and is the future of what wrestling has to hold. Now you have a lot of older guys still in the business. You have the Jeff Jarretts, the Kevin Nashes, the Road Doggs. My opinion is these guys still have so much to offer the business, so much knowledge to pass on down to the young guys, but the young guys are coming up…they’re the stars you’re going to see. You look at Ring of Honor, you look at NWA-TNA, that’s what you have to focus on. And don’t forget the HWA because you’re going to see them on America One coming up and you’re going to see a lot of names to pay attention to. I’m going to throw some out there. Outside of me, we’ll go with Jon Moxley, a really good up-and-comer with the HWA. I see nothing but big things in his future. Chad Collyer. Already has done some WWE, already did some NWA-TNA, a mainstay at the HWA. The world is open to him. The man was trained by Dean Malenko and he can run with anyone. No matter what names you throw out there, there’s always something good about someone as long as people remember the wrestling business comes at you in cycles. The 80s was kind of big. The 70s when we had territories was huge. The 90s was the biggest blowout I thought we’d ever see and something tells me, in 2007-2008 it will all come back around again and they’ll be nothing to stop us. When guys like The Rock are totally out of it, when guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin are totally gone, is when these voids are going to be filled by your Ron “the Truth” Killings’, your AJ Styles’, Monty Brown—you cannot forget him—this guy is an animal, a total animal. And now that the racial change has happened, the world has opened up. Lord knows what you’re going to see. Back in the 70s you were really limited to what you could see by the way the guy appeared. If his pigment was too dark, you may not see him too much. Vince McMahon changed all that and the future’s so bright--to steal a phrase--I gotta wear shades.

Alright, Gotti. We’re about to wrap this thing up, my friend. It’s always great to see you, it’s great to see you in shape… oh my God, don’t even think about curling that 150 lbs.!

Oh, come on. It’s only 150, baby! Gotti can do it. I can do anything. See this bench press? It’s 375 with one hand! It’s good to be Gotti. That’s what it’s all about.

My math’s not that good but if you times that by two hands…oh my God!

Oh, God. Wait, wait, wait…help, help, heeeellllllllllllp!!!!!!!