Post by kylehynson on Jun 1, 2012 19:08:03 GMT -5
Interview with Gabe Sapolsky conducted by Joe Ferrara on 2/24/02
What is your main job with Ring of Honor?
Gabe: Geez, whatever Rob needs me to do. For the first show I put it together and did a lot of promotion and public relations.
What is the first thing that came to mind when you knew RFVideo would be starting up their own wrestling promotion?
Gabe: That we needed to be different than everyone else and put on the best wrestling today in a new, creative way, while still maintaining our working relationship with all the fine promotions we work with. We want to help everyone be successful that we do business with.
With all the many different independents on the east coast, did you guys feel that you could compete against them, draw bigger crowds, and put on better shows?
Gabe: I think everyone has a different product so I just wanted our product to be different than all those products and then the fans can decide who they want to give their money too. We aren't looking to compete, we are just looking to put on the best show we can.
How did you guys pick which talent to use for the ROH shows?
Gabe: We've been studying tapes since ECW ended watching everyone and when we started we put together a lineup that I thought would be good and then we went out and got those guys. We wanted to take the best guys available to us and there is lots of great talent out there. I have a list of over 50 wrestlers I would like to see in ROH at some point.
What made Ring of Honor decide to run in the Murphy Rec Center opposed to the historic wrestling building in Philadelphia, the ECW Arena?
Gabe: The ECW Arena is only historic if ECW is running it because it is ECW that made all the history there. We wanted to start smaller and grow, not start in the Former ECW Arena. People have expectations of ECW in that building, we wanted to start something fresh and new and not live in ECW's shadow.
How were you feeling as the time came closer and closer to February 23rd?
Gabe: Very excited. I knew we had a good thing here and I was just excited to present the product to everyone.
What was it like for you and everyone else with RFVideo when you guys soldout all the tickets for the debut Ring of Honor show?
Gabe: It was very satisfying, but we knew it was just the beginning and a lot of hard work is ahead.
On the day of the show were you at all scared that you might have missed doing something, or that something could go wrong?
Gabe: Nope not at all. It was a great team effort by everyone at RF Video to make sure we were organized and prepared. I knew we had everything covered.
Did you guys feel that you needed to let the people in on time, and start the show exactly on time in order to get good remarks about the show from the very beginning?
Gabe: Yes, it was one of our main goals with this show. We wanted to treat everyone with respect and have no hassles for all the people coming to this event. We wanted it to be an easy, comfrotable and enjoyable evening for everyone and I feel we accomplished that.
Did Rob Feinstein (the owner of ROH) say anything to the locker room before the show started?
Gabe: No, we decided it would be best not to give any speech cause everyone does them and it's like a cliche now and they don't mean anything. No one will ever give better speeches than Paul Heyman so why even try. If there is something you want to tell somebody you should tell them one-on-one anyway.
How did you feel the first half of the show went?
Gabe: A couple of matches went longer than I wanted them too, but I was very happy. Da Hit Squad vs. Christopher St. Connection was a great open for the promotion. Jay Briscoe vs. The Amazing Red was fantastic and exactly what I hoped it would be. Those two are just so good. Xavier vs. Scoot Andrews was really solid and it got the idea across that in ROH the handshake is important. Natural Born Sinners just beat the hell out of Loc and The Boogie Knight and the six way Ultimate Aerial Elimination gave a lot of action and high-flying plus it lead to Red and Brian XL teaming for the first time ever next month in a three-way dance vs. Maximos vs. Divine Storm
What made you guys put Prince Nana vs Towel Boy Eric Tuttle as the 6th match on the card?
Gabe: It was a good way to come out of intermission and it lead to something in the locker room where Tuttle decided that in order to make it in the business he has to become a prince's servent and Prince Nana really is a prince so they are now a tag team.
After seeing the tag match Spanky/Loa vs Oz/Shane, Spanky won and received a ROH contract. Will we still see the other 3 back in ROH at some point?
Gabe: Yes, some or all might be back at some point, but Spanky will be on almost every show if not every show. He is a tremendous talent both in the ring and with his personality and he is a great guy to work with. I'm really looking forward to him vs. Jay Briscoe on March 30th.
What are your thoughts on the Super Crazy vs Eddy Guerrero match?
Gabe: It was exactly what I expected. A really good match between two of the best.
What are you thoughts on the 3 way dance between Low Ki, American Dragon and Christopher Daniels?
Gabe: It was perhaps the greatest match I've ever seen live and that is saying something considering I shot 90% of the ECW shows at ringside for RF Video. I knew it would be great, but it blew away all my expectations and was out of this world. That is why I put it on last. I knew it would be an unbelievable, best match on the show, but it was even better than that. Those guys were all welted up after the match and they are all so talented and take so much pride in their work
How did you feel when you heard the crowd chanting "Match of the Year"?
Gabe: I felt a lot of pride that we were privaleged enough to have such a great match and those three, out of this world workers main event the first ROH show. They are all so professional and great guys. I can't say enough good things about them.
How do you think the show ran overall?
Gabe: It was great. I loved it and am overwhelmed with the response. We all pulled together as a team and made this a professional and well organized show that is a credit to the wrestling business. Rob received an email today from the lady in charge of the Muphy Recreation Center saying how she was nervous about having a show this big at the building and she didn't even like wrestling but she is now a fan of ROH and last night wasn't even like work for her because of how professional the whole crew was. She said she is looking forward to our next show on March 30th. We are really proud of that kind of response.
The show went with 1 table being used, zero chair shots, and the crowd still loved the show. Do you think thats a plus?
Gabe: Yes, we are trying to get older, pure wrestling fans back into wrestling. We want to take things back to the basics in some ways while still presenting something new and I feel we did that last night. We want ROH to be based on athletic wrestling. We want to give the fans a well rounded show with some of everything on it. I was very touched last night to see a lot of old ECW faces that I haven't seen in a few years. It was a tremendous crowd who respected the wrestlers and wanted to see a great wrestling show and that is what we gave them. We want true wrestling fans to come to ROH.
What can Ring of Honor fans expect from future shows?
Gabe: Great shows with something of everything on it and a good atmosphere to watch shows.
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. If anyone has any questions how can they contact you?
Gabe: sure, ROHgabe@aol.com. Thank you.
What is your main job with Ring of Honor?
Gabe: Geez, whatever Rob needs me to do. For the first show I put it together and did a lot of promotion and public relations.
What is the first thing that came to mind when you knew RFVideo would be starting up their own wrestling promotion?
Gabe: That we needed to be different than everyone else and put on the best wrestling today in a new, creative way, while still maintaining our working relationship with all the fine promotions we work with. We want to help everyone be successful that we do business with.
With all the many different independents on the east coast, did you guys feel that you could compete against them, draw bigger crowds, and put on better shows?
Gabe: I think everyone has a different product so I just wanted our product to be different than all those products and then the fans can decide who they want to give their money too. We aren't looking to compete, we are just looking to put on the best show we can.
How did you guys pick which talent to use for the ROH shows?
Gabe: We've been studying tapes since ECW ended watching everyone and when we started we put together a lineup that I thought would be good and then we went out and got those guys. We wanted to take the best guys available to us and there is lots of great talent out there. I have a list of over 50 wrestlers I would like to see in ROH at some point.
What made Ring of Honor decide to run in the Murphy Rec Center opposed to the historic wrestling building in Philadelphia, the ECW Arena?
Gabe: The ECW Arena is only historic if ECW is running it because it is ECW that made all the history there. We wanted to start smaller and grow, not start in the Former ECW Arena. People have expectations of ECW in that building, we wanted to start something fresh and new and not live in ECW's shadow.
How were you feeling as the time came closer and closer to February 23rd?
Gabe: Very excited. I knew we had a good thing here and I was just excited to present the product to everyone.
What was it like for you and everyone else with RFVideo when you guys soldout all the tickets for the debut Ring of Honor show?
Gabe: It was very satisfying, but we knew it was just the beginning and a lot of hard work is ahead.
On the day of the show were you at all scared that you might have missed doing something, or that something could go wrong?
Gabe: Nope not at all. It was a great team effort by everyone at RF Video to make sure we were organized and prepared. I knew we had everything covered.
Did you guys feel that you needed to let the people in on time, and start the show exactly on time in order to get good remarks about the show from the very beginning?
Gabe: Yes, it was one of our main goals with this show. We wanted to treat everyone with respect and have no hassles for all the people coming to this event. We wanted it to be an easy, comfrotable and enjoyable evening for everyone and I feel we accomplished that.
Did Rob Feinstein (the owner of ROH) say anything to the locker room before the show started?
Gabe: No, we decided it would be best not to give any speech cause everyone does them and it's like a cliche now and they don't mean anything. No one will ever give better speeches than Paul Heyman so why even try. If there is something you want to tell somebody you should tell them one-on-one anyway.
How did you feel the first half of the show went?
Gabe: A couple of matches went longer than I wanted them too, but I was very happy. Da Hit Squad vs. Christopher St. Connection was a great open for the promotion. Jay Briscoe vs. The Amazing Red was fantastic and exactly what I hoped it would be. Those two are just so good. Xavier vs. Scoot Andrews was really solid and it got the idea across that in ROH the handshake is important. Natural Born Sinners just beat the hell out of Loc and The Boogie Knight and the six way Ultimate Aerial Elimination gave a lot of action and high-flying plus it lead to Red and Brian XL teaming for the first time ever next month in a three-way dance vs. Maximos vs. Divine Storm
What made you guys put Prince Nana vs Towel Boy Eric Tuttle as the 6th match on the card?
Gabe: It was a good way to come out of intermission and it lead to something in the locker room where Tuttle decided that in order to make it in the business he has to become a prince's servent and Prince Nana really is a prince so they are now a tag team.
After seeing the tag match Spanky/Loa vs Oz/Shane, Spanky won and received a ROH contract. Will we still see the other 3 back in ROH at some point?
Gabe: Yes, some or all might be back at some point, but Spanky will be on almost every show if not every show. He is a tremendous talent both in the ring and with his personality and he is a great guy to work with. I'm really looking forward to him vs. Jay Briscoe on March 30th.
What are your thoughts on the Super Crazy vs Eddy Guerrero match?
Gabe: It was exactly what I expected. A really good match between two of the best.
What are you thoughts on the 3 way dance between Low Ki, American Dragon and Christopher Daniels?
Gabe: It was perhaps the greatest match I've ever seen live and that is saying something considering I shot 90% of the ECW shows at ringside for RF Video. I knew it would be great, but it blew away all my expectations and was out of this world. That is why I put it on last. I knew it would be an unbelievable, best match on the show, but it was even better than that. Those guys were all welted up after the match and they are all so talented and take so much pride in their work
How did you feel when you heard the crowd chanting "Match of the Year"?
Gabe: I felt a lot of pride that we were privaleged enough to have such a great match and those three, out of this world workers main event the first ROH show. They are all so professional and great guys. I can't say enough good things about them.
How do you think the show ran overall?
Gabe: It was great. I loved it and am overwhelmed with the response. We all pulled together as a team and made this a professional and well organized show that is a credit to the wrestling business. Rob received an email today from the lady in charge of the Muphy Recreation Center saying how she was nervous about having a show this big at the building and she didn't even like wrestling but she is now a fan of ROH and last night wasn't even like work for her because of how professional the whole crew was. She said she is looking forward to our next show on March 30th. We are really proud of that kind of response.
The show went with 1 table being used, zero chair shots, and the crowd still loved the show. Do you think thats a plus?
Gabe: Yes, we are trying to get older, pure wrestling fans back into wrestling. We want to take things back to the basics in some ways while still presenting something new and I feel we did that last night. We want ROH to be based on athletic wrestling. We want to give the fans a well rounded show with some of everything on it. I was very touched last night to see a lot of old ECW faces that I haven't seen in a few years. It was a tremendous crowd who respected the wrestlers and wanted to see a great wrestling show and that is what we gave them. We want true wrestling fans to come to ROH.
What can Ring of Honor fans expect from future shows?
Gabe: Great shows with something of everything on it and a good atmosphere to watch shows.
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. If anyone has any questions how can they contact you?
Gabe: sure, ROHgabe@aol.com. Thank you.