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SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS TO MIKE FOR THE PWINSIDER Q&A BY CLICKING HERE.
A follow-up from Chris D. with some more background on Jackson Drake, who was asked about last week:
I saw your response to the question about where Jackson Drake came from, and I thought I’d add a bit of information to your response (if you’re interested). Both Jackson Drake and Je’Von Evans were trained by wrestler Labron Kozone, who operates FireStar Pro Wrestling in North Carolina. Mr. Kozone has been training wrestlers for a number of years (and as a side note, he might be someone you would be interested in interviewing from that perspective), and he is highly regarded as a trainer. He is also very active on the independent scene, wrestling quite frequently in Deadlock Pro Wrestling (which is also based in North Carolina). He has also wrestled in AEW. Jackson and Je’Von trained together at FireStar (I believe they both started there at the same time) and wrestled together as a tag team known as the Wrestling Prodigies before going their own ways as singles wrestlers. If nothing else, I hope you find this interesting, and I hope you have a good rest of your day. Thank you for all that you, Dave, and everyone else at PWInsider does to keep us fans informed.
I know this isn't your division of PWI, but Is there any way to buy the old Apter mags in digital versions?
Not officially. I'd love to see all those old magazines digitized forever but I don't believe it will happen anytime soon. I absolutely love the idea of it. But, for now at least, if you want them, prepare to track down old physical copies.
Also, we have no connection at all to the wonderful folks over at Pro Wrestling Illustrated and never have. You should address your concerns to them!
Is the current Memphis Wrestling connected to the old USWA?
No, just a new incarnation of pro wrestling in that market. They regularly pay tribute to the history and Dustin Starr, who promotes and runs it, does a nice job with that promotion, but it's not officially connected to what Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett produced beyond being something of a spiritual continuation.
Obviously, there's a lot of old wrestling you've watched. Have you seen anyone you wish you could have watched live?
Sure. It would have been cool to see Andre the Giant or Bruiser Brody in person. I'd have loved to have seen Bad Leroy Brown and Penny Banner in person in the ring (I did get to meet and know Penny, who I considered a friend and sincerely enjoyed and respected). I think the one I wish I could have seen wrestle, since he means a lot to me personally, is Les Thatcher. I didn't meet Les until well after he was retired from the ring and unfortunately, there's no footage of him in the ring that I've ever seen from his prime - I would really have enjoyed that.
I saw Simon Dean is booked for a promotion in Alaska. Is he coming out of retirement?
I called Mike Bucci and he told me will be making an appearance and doing a seminar, but he will not be wrestling. He has no interest in stepping back in the ring and unless it's to raise money for a charitable organization, I don't believe he ever will. It's just not where he is in life. He was very happy to end his career on his terms in a ring with his friends several years back.
Who do you think is the most underrepresented and underrated WWF women's wrestler of all time?
I am sure there are lots, but for me, Velvet McIntyre, by far. Great performer who always had good, credible matches and in another realm, likely would have gotten a shot at running with the title. I think Judy Martin is also underrated by the vast majority of fans today as well. The Glamour Girls tag team with Martin and Leilani Kai was absolutely perfect as a heel act.
Is there any word what happened to Adam Cole? If he's hurt, why was he putting videos in YouTube?
It's been reported he suffered a concussion on Collision two days before All In: Texas. Given he's had some bad concussions in the past, the decision was made to pull him from the ring. My best guess is his gaming YouTube has lots of content that was pre-produced and scheduled to go out, so it's apples and oranges. We wish Cole nothing but the best.
Whatever happened to international release dates for Queen of the Ring?
They ran some theaters in Canada and announced there would be more announcements forthcoming, but nothing, as of this writing, has been revealed.
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