Author Archives: Jonathan Williams

“The Awakening” opens viewers’ eyes to hauntings of a different kind

Robert (Dominic West) attempts to comfort Florence (Rebecca Hall) in "The Awakening"

There are many theories on whether or not ghosts actually exist and, if they do, what causes these lost souls to stick around rather than moving on. The idea of proving or debunking their existence has become the subject of numerous reality shows such as Ghost Hunters, where experimental scientific methods are used to investigate paranormal activities. The British film The Awakening (not based on the feminist novel by Kate Chopin) takes ghost hunting back almost an entire century as strange occurrences at a preparatory school for orphans culminate in the death of one of its students.

Florence (Rebecca Hall) has made a career out of using scientific methods to track ghosts. Only her methods have been effective in not only disproving hauntings, but also uncovering fraudulent mediums using hoaxes to prey on those looking to reconnect with loved ones who have passed on. Her dedication to the subject has made her a famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk to) author bent on proving that there’s no such thing as ghosts. But when Robert (The Wire‘s Dominic West), a teacher from the boarding school, asks Florence for her assistance with the reported ghost sightings that resulted in the death of one student, she agrees to help. After her initial hesitation, Florence is inexplicably drawn to the school, and especially one young boy named Tom (Game of Thrones‘ Isaac Hempstead-Wright).

Florence (Rebecca Hall) endures physical and emotional distress in "The Awakening"

After her first night at the school, Florence is able to unveil a prank by some of the students, and it seems that the mystery has been solved. But after she also exposes one teacher’s abusive disciplinary methods, she starts to experience unexplainable occurrences for herself. As it turns out she, herself, is haunted by the loss of her lover in World War I. But that doesn’t fully explain the odd sightings and flashbacks that become more and more frequent the longer she stays at the school. When she insists on continuing her investigation even after Robert and Maud (Imelda Staunton), the housekeeper, are convinced that the prank explains everything, Florence’s own sanity begins to be questioned. And she gradually begins to realize that it’s not just the guilt and grief of having lost her lover that is haunting her, but something from much earlier in her life that has been repressed for many years.

By the time she figures out the source of these ghosts, chaos has broken out for those remaining at the school while the students are out on holiday. And in the tradition of The Sixth Sense and The Others, there is a big twist (or should I say, “an awakening”?) as the film reaches its climax. But The Awakening‘s big surprise is not the same surprise found in those movies. Instead, this film takes things one step further, surprising the viewer yet again just when he thinks he has it all figured out. And after all the suspense leading up to the big revelations, it’s kind of like the uneasy relief you might feel if you pulled the sheet way to find that there was never anyone underneath after all.

The Awakening. Directed by Nick Murphy. Starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton. Rated R. www.cohenmedia.net.

From SummerSlam to the Uproar Festival, Jericho rocks the ring and stage

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With the release of Fozzy‘s new Sin and Bones album on Tuesday, the band’s inclusion on the Uproar Festival tour starting tomorrow and his match against Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam on Sunday, it could easily be argued that Chris Jericho is the busiest man in the entertainment world right now. And that’s not even mentioning his weekly Rock of Jericho radio show, his best-selling books, his numerous TV appearances or his acting career. But for the next few months, Y2J’s focus will be on Fozzy, whose new album is above and beyond anything the band has previously released, proving that the satirical hair metal premise the band began with is long since gone. Before he hits the road for Uproar and challenges Ziggler at SummerSlam, Jericho takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture once again.

First of all, congratulations on the new Fozzy record. It’s definitely the band’s best album yet and it seems like I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Thanks, man. Yeah, it’s been totally cool to get a great response to a record we’ve spent so much time on. When it comes out and people say it’s your best work ever, give it ten out of ten and all this other sort of stuff, it’s a great reward for your psyche.

One of the things I really liked about it is has a darker feel to it, as well as a good bit of ’80s metal influence. From the Dexter-inspired “Dark Passenger” to Avenged Sevenfold‘s M. Shadows joining you on “Sandpaper,” how would you say that darker influence came about?

I had a bunch of lyrical ideas based around song titles, so I went backwards from there. Then when I finished all the lyrics, I realized there was kind of a dark tone to all of them. Rich [Ward, guitarist] had been writing a lot of riffs that were dark as well, so we decided we wanted to make a record similar to Metallica‘s Black Album, which was a very cohesive record that fit. Even though there was a lot of diversity on it, every song kind of lead into the next and had the same tone and vibe to it. That’s what we wanted with Sin and Bones, and I think we achieved that. There’s a lot of diversity on the record, but it all fits into the same mold and the vibe is more of a darker type of tone.

I’m a big fan of Dexter and I just loved the concept of the Dark Passenger that he talked about. I don’t know if the song is about Dexter per se, but it’s definitely the same vibe, having this Dark Passenger inside that caused him to commit these unspeakable acts. I get a lot of ideas from TV and those type of things. I wrote another song called “Walk Amongst the Dead” that’s an iTunes B-side that’s based on The Walking Dead, a zombie type of thing. But it didn’t start out that way. I was thinking about Anthrax‘s Among the Living and I thought, “What about ‘Among the Dead’?” Then, “What about, ‘Walk Amongst the Dead’?” Then I started writing it and was like, “Wait a minute. This totally should be about zombies, so I’ll go there.”

But all my lyrics were based around the song titles. The song title “Spider in My Mouth,” I read that in a Stephen King book years ago and had the thought process of, “What would it be like if somebody woke up with a spider in their mouth?” I thought it would be a cool song title, but it wasn’t really about waking up with a spider in my mouth. It started there and went from there.

You’ve clearly always been inspired by ’80s metal singers, but your singing on this album is much more accomplished than on previous Fozzy albums. Did you take vocal lessons before recording this album? Were there particular singers you drew inspiration from on Sin and Bones?

I took singing lessons a few years ago, but not recently. I’m not just inspired by ’80s singers. I like Bruce Dickinson, but I’m also a big fan of Matt Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold. But I’m not trying to emulate anyone in particular because everyone has his own voice and I don’t want to sound like anyone else. I just open my mouth and sing and that’s the voice that comes out.

Fozzy started out as a fun thing for you and your friends in Stuck Mojo, but there have been some lineup changes since then. Aside from you and Rich, who else is in the band now?

The three guys that have been in the band the whole time are myself, Rich and Frank Fontsere, our drummer. Billy Grey, who was with us in 2002, rejoined the band for Chasing the Grail. Then we got Paul Di Leo on bass, who is just a monster player. You can hear how the bass has changed from Chasing the Grail to Sin and Bones since he’s become a primary element of the band. I think adding him to the band and his performance is one of the highlights of Sin and Bones as well.

As you’re in-ring dealings with Dolph Ziggler have heated up over the past few weeks leading into your match at SummerSlam this Sunday, we’ve seen you return to your Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla persona. The timing is good since you’ll be touring with your rock ‘n’ roll band over the next few months. Was that a conscious thing or did that all happen by chance?

It just kind of happened organically. The fans decide what they want to see and over the last three or four months they’ve been really cheering for me. I had a good three-year run as a bad guy, but after a while what’s bad is good and people just started enjoying my work and cheering for me. So I decided to just go with it and not fight it. It’s good to be out on the road with Fozzy and have my character in WWE be a good guy. Even though I keep them completely separate, a lot of times when you’re the bad guy people think you’re an asshole all the time. So it’s nice to be a nice, fun guy for once after all these years of being a jerk.

You’re one of the few wrestlers who can successfully go from being a heel to getting the fans back on your side pretty quickly. Why do you think you’re able to do that when many wrestlers are either good or bad and can’t convince the fans they are capable of changing?

I’ve been wrestling for 22 years, so I just have the experience and know how to do it. There are subtle intricacies that you need to do to make both things work in different ways. But the experience makes it a lot easier.

When you made your WWE return several months ago, you debuted the latest in your wrestling ensemble, which is your elaborately lit jacket. Will we be seeing that at the Uproar Festival or is that reserved strictly for wrestling?

No, that’s only for wrestling. If I wore that on stage, I’d also have to wear tights and kneepads, and just wouldn’t look right.

There are a lot of other bands on this tour whose music has been used by WWE and other wrestling promotions. Are there any particular bands you’re looking forward to seeing and touring with?

I’m a big Shinedown fan. I love Papa Roach, so I’m excited to see those two bands and Godsmack, obviously. It’s going to be fun and we’re excited. We did a tour last year with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine, which are two of my all-time favorite bands. But this one will be fun and it’s our first full-fledged coast-to-coast tour in the States and it’s one of the biggest tours of the summer. So to be part of it is huge for us and we’re excited. We’re ready to go out there and tear people’s heads off and be one of the best bands every night and be one of the most popular bands every night. That’s what our mission is.

I interviewed Rick DeJesus from Adelitas Way a few days ago and he mentioned some comments you had made about his band on Twitter. Is there perhaps a friendly rivalry developing between the two bands?

No, I wasn’t saying anything about them. I just wanted more of the Twitter followers they had. I just said I wanted Fozzy to have more Twitter followers than Adelitas Way. And now we do, so there you go. I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings.

I think it just encouraged him to step things up on this tour. But this has been a big week for you. The album was released on Tuesday, the tour starts tomorrow and you’re wrestling Ziggler on Sunday at SummerSlam. Regardless of the outcome of that match, when do you think we might see you in the ring again? Do you have plans to keep touring after Uproar ends?

We’ve got tours booked all the way up until next March, so we have a busy schedule coming up. You can’t do both at the same time, so we’ll see. I’m sure I’ll come back to WWE at some point, but until then I’ll be on the road with Fozzy.

You wear many hats these days, and they all seem to fit equally well. But who would win in a fatal four-way between Jericho the wrestler, Jericho the rock star, Jericho the radio show host and Moongoose McQueen?

Well, Moongoose McQueen dies years ago, so he wouldn’t be much of a factor. So it would have to be a three-way draw.

For more information, go to www.fozzyrock.com.

Adelitas Way looks to start an Uproar this August and September

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Photo by Olaf Heine

The members of Adelitas Way come from Philadelphia, California, New York and West Virginia, but it was only appropriate that they came together in a city known for decadence and risk-taking. But with a willingness to take calculated risks in order to push the band to the next level of success, things definitely seem to be paying off for this Las Vegas quintet. The band’s anthemic party rock first broke into the mainstream when the song “Invincible” was used as the theme song for WWE Superstars show. The band went on to record “A New Day,” originally used by The Legacy, then by Ted DiBiase when that faction disbanded. The band has appeared on Raw, performed a pre-show concert at 2009’s The Bash pay-per-view and had its music included in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, so Adelitas Way owes much of its success to WWE. But the work ethic and relentless touring schedule of singer Rick DeJesus and his crew haven’t hurt, as the band has performed with just about every big name in modern rock and has seen even more success with 2011’s Homeschool Valedictorian than it had with it’s self-titled 2009 debut. This Friday the band sets out on arguably its biggest tour to date as it performs on the main stage of Uproar Festival. As he prepares for this August/September jaunt, DeJesus talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about touring with Chris Jericho‘s Fozzy, the band’s post-Uproar plans and returning rock to its former splendor.

Many wrestling fans were introduced to Adelitas Way when WWE used the song “Invincible” as the them song to Superstars. Then you also worked with WWE on The Legacy’s entrance music and appeared on Raw. So your relationship with WWE is obviously a good one, but how has that affected the band when it comes to broadening your fanbase?

WWE has been great to us. We’re a young, hungry rock band and while people are shying away from rock bands, which is what we all grew up on and what everybody knows, WWE has welcomed new rock bands with open arms. That’s definitely helped widen our fanbase and all they want to do is help young bands out, let rock thrive and be badass, honestly. That’s one of my favorite things about WWE and WWE has been a great partner for us.

Have you done any new music for WWE aside from the stuff I just mentioned?

Photo by Kristian Dowling

We discussed doing some stuff like maybe collaborating on pay-per-views, but at the end of the day WWE is all about exposing new, fresh bands. They gave us a great opportunity to work with them and I’m sure we’ll do a lot more things with them, but I like that they’re using new bands and continuing to find new bands that the world can find out about. It’s not all about us all the time. I love the fact that they’re really trying to bring in new music and really trying to put rock out to America.

Adelitas Way is getting ready for the Uproar Festival, which begins this Friday and includes several other bands whose music has been used by WWE. Are there any particular bands you’re looking forward to touring with on Uproar?

Of course. We’re really good friends with Shinedown, Papa Roach is our homies, Aaron Lewis from Staind is a great guy, so I think it’s going to be the funnest thing to do from the summer into the fall. I can’t wait to get out there and start doing it because every day I’m going to wake up and do what I love to do and put on the best shows people have seen. I think Uproar is going to be a place for us to showcase what we’ve become, take it to the next level and show people we’re not messing around here. We’re going to put on one of the best live shows they’ve ever seen and I’m excited about it.

I’m particularly curious about Chris Jericho‘s band Fozzy. Have you seen Fozzy perform before? What do you anticipate from Jericho and his band on this tour?

Photo by John Shearer

For some reason, on Twitter and here and there, he comes after us a little bit. I wish nothing but the best for Chris Jericho and I love all his dreams and aspirations, and hope he does amazing on Uproar. I think when he sees what we do on Uproar, he’s going to show a little more respect to us as a band than he has been. He doesn’t now what’s about to come and he doesn’t know the pain that we bring. He’ll get a little taste of it on Uproar and hopefully we can be friends.

I wasn’t aware that he has tweeted about you. What kind of things has he been saying?

He thinks we’re some young amateur band, but I don’t think he knows what we’re about and I can’t wait to show him. I wake up every day to put on the best live show that people have seen. I practice and I work my ass off, so I look forward to the challenge. Chris threw a couple of tweets out trying to, I don’t know, I just saw a couple of things. I get that he’s trying to get more followers for what he’s doing and stuff like that. I don’t play the Twitter game often, but I do play the rock game and I’m ready to have him come out and see what we do. Hopefully he can get an understanding of how hard I work and how much I love to perform.

Your most recent album, Homeschool Valedictorian, has been out for more than a year now. Are you working on any new music to be released anytime soon?

I’m an artist, so I never stop working on new things. I wrote Homeschool Valedictorian right after our first record. I just write about my life and things that I’m going through, so I just continue to write. I never stopped writing after the first one and I never stopped writing after Homeschool was written. So I have a lot of the third record already put together and it’s going to be the best thing we’ve done. There’s a lot of things that are special off our last record, but I want people to know that we ain’t going nowhere and there are plenty more things to come. Everything gets better, better, better all the time. I want to raise the bar with every record, every show, everything, and I’m not fucking around, man. I’m not here to be lazy and not put the work in. The harder you work, the luckier you get. I’m working harder than anybody in the business right now, so I’m going to get real lucky soon. I’m just letting it be know we’re going to continue on this road. We’re going to put out a third record eventually and it’s going to be great. And we’re going to give the fans everything we have. I’m excited, man. I can’t explain to you the enthusiasm I have about the future of rock music in general. I love being part of this era because it’s coming back, man. I don’t know when the shift happened with the alternative and dubstep, but somewhere along the line people forgot that rock’s the real deal, and we’re going to take it back.

I’ve done numerous interviews lately that touch upon the fact that ’70s and ’80s style rock is seeing a resurgence, not only from the bands that were around then, but from newer bands that were influenced by those bands.

Photo by Olaf Heine

I believe there’s a generation of stars in this era that just haven’t been tapped into like Pete [Loeffler] from Chevelle, Lzzy Hale form Halestorm, Brent Smith from Shinedown. There’s an era right now of rock stars that need to be role models, not these Jersey Shore people on TV or these bands that aren’t really playing or singing. I don’t know, it’s all about talent and soul. I grew up on rock ‘n’ roll and all I want to do is offer that influence on this generation because I know they haven’t had a chance to hear it. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make it undeniable. We get an opportunity to come out and rock, and rock radio gives us a lot of love, we get to play great shows, and we’ve done damage, man. But so far, everyone has said “no” to us. You try to get on late night TV and they don’t want a rock band. You try to get on MTV and they don’t want a rock band. They treat us like we’re the plague. They don’t want to put us on nothing. We get laughed at sometimes. But you know what? We’re doing it without all them. We’re going to make them have to play us. We’re going to make so much noise that they’re going to have to put us on that shit. I want to make it undeniable and the way you do that is by putting on something special. That’s what I plan on doing every night.

Do you have a particular time frame for the new album or any additional touring plans after Uproar?

No time frame, I just like to go with the flow and let things guide themselves. We’re doing Uproar, then touring with Creed, then we’re going out with Theory of a Deadman and we’re going to keep beating the doors down until everybody who thinks they don’t need rock on their shows or in their movies realizes they have to have it. When you make noise, people have to listen. We love to tour and playing live is one of my favorite things to do. But I want people to appreciate when we come to their town. I don’t want to come through too many times, but people are still trying to find out about is right now, so I will. So we’re going to keep riding the success of Homeschool Valedictorian, and I think there’s a lot left. Then we’ll take some time off and work as hard as we possibly can to try to make one of the best rock records to come out in the next couple of years with our third record. I think it’s gotten to the next level with Homeschool Valedictorian, and I want it to get even bigger moving forward.

For more information, go to www.adelitaswaymusic.net.

Dirtfedd gets down and dirty this weekend at Knotfest

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Discovered by Slipknot‘s M. Shawn Crahan in 2006, Lincoln, Neb.’s Dirtfedd has maintained a loyal Midwest following while gradually gaining more fans across the country. But the band’s biggest exposure came during this summer’s Mayhem Festival, headlined by Slipknot and featuring Dirtfedd on a smaller side stage during the day. The band, which complements its hardcore metal with keyboards and effects that provide a somewhat industrial/black metal feel, didn’t seem to mind getting down and dirty with the fans all summer, performing with more energy than some of the main stage acts. This Friday, Dirtfedd continues that mayhem with a performance at Iowa’s Knotfest alongside carnival rides and bands like Prong, the Urge, Serj Tankian, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Deftones and, of course, Slipknot. Dirtfedd will follow that up with a few more shows in Omaha and Lincoln before finishing up its new EP. Wrestling with Pop Culture recently caught up with bassist Scott Root and guitarist Eric Marshall, who had this to say.

A lot of people weren’t very familiar with Dirtfedd going into this year’s Mayhem Festival, myself included. I understand you released an album a few years ago, but what have you been working on recently?

Root: We have an album called The American Nightmare that was released in 2009 and produced by Shawn Crahan from Slipknot. We’re hoping to go back in the studio with Shawn because we have a lot of music written. We’d like to put out a five or six-song EP in early 2013, maybe spring.

How was the first album released? Was that an independent release or were you signed to a record label?

Marshall: Our first album came out on eOne Music, which used to be Koch Records, and it was just a one-album deal.

When you played the Mayhem Fest, you played the Sumerian Records Stage, which was basically a large tent. And your merch stand was the most punk rock/homemade-looking one there. Is that part of the band’s aesthetic or was it just done out of necessity?

Marshall: We came out with a small tent and realized we were the only band on the whole tour that didn’t have our name plastered all over our tent. So we went out and bought some spray paint and stencils and put our name on it.

I’ve heard more than once that this year’s Mayhem Festival was one of the most successful ones yet. How has that translated for Dirtfedd? Have you seen an influx of new fans or more traffic to your website or anything like that?

Root: It’s been awesome. Every single day there was a line of people that wanted to talk to us and ask us about our band and our music, and maybe pick up a T-shirt. These were all brand-new fresh faces for us, so we just played for as many people as we could, talked to as many people as we could and just tried to make it grow and get ourselves out there a little more.

Have you done any national tours previously or was Mayhem your first time?

Marshall: This is definitely our first fully national tour. We’ve done small stints here and there with DevilDriver and a small tour with Dope, which was our first official tour. And we did a few radio festivals with Slipknot and Korn a few years ago. But this was definitely the first full national tour we’ve done, and by far the biggest.

A lot of the bands you’ve shared the stage with have worked with WWE or otherwise professed their affinities for professional wrestling. Is that something Dirtfedd has ever done and, if not, would you be interested in providing entrance music or theme songs for wrestling?

Marshall: I think it would be awesome. I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to it.

Root: We’re always looking to try new things. Whatever we can do to get ourselves out there.

Marshall: Wrestling is one of the more extreme forms of entertainment and heavy metal and punk rock are the more extreme forms of music. So it’s kind of cool when those two things mesh together like that. We’ve had an amateur MMA fighter use our music. We have a song called “Trained to Kill” and one dude used it for his entrance music. That’s the only fighter I know of to use our music.

British quintet gives North American audiences The Treatment with KISS and Mötley Crüe

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KISS and Mötley Crüe have likely been responsible for a lot of firsts, especially for fans who have yet to reach the age of 20. But for British band The Treatment, whose five members are still in their late teens despite their ’70s rocker imagery, these two bands have not only been big influences on the throwback rock sound heard on the recently-released debut album This Might Hurt, they’re also responsible for The Treatment’s North American debut. Currently making its way across the United State and Canada, the co-headlining bill known simply as The Tour features the young quintet as the opening act (with additional club dates for The Treatment on off dates from The Tour). Being introduced to new audiences each night, The Treatment’s singer Matt Jones talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the tour, the album and what the rest of the year has in store for this young band.

You’ve already gained quite a following in Europe, but touring with two of the biggest bands in the world is quite a way to make your North American debut.

Yeah, I mean it’s huge. We’ve all grown up listening to these bands, so to be out here playing with them in America in front of that many people is just unbelievable.

What have the reactions been like for you so far on this tour?

I think people come in early because they want to get a good spot for KISS and Mötley Crüe. We’re going on about half an hour before the main bands go on, but we’ve had really, really good responses so far. It’s been really fun, too.

With KISS and Crüe, it’s not just the front men who have been able to capture the attention of audiences. And many of the other members of each band have fronted other bands of their own. As a singer and front man, who would you say have been some of the bigger influences on you between the two bands you’re currently touring with?

That’s hard because, like you said, their all such great front men. Vince Neil was the ultimate ’80s front man, then Paul Stanley is fantastic and Gene Simmons is fantastic. I don’t know that I could really pick one. I’ve grown up listening to both bands and both bands have had an equally big impression on us, really.

You’ve had the opportunity to play with some other big rock bands like Alice Cooper and Motörhead in your homeland. As I mentioned before, we aren’t that familiar with you here, but do you already have a pretty big following back home?

We’re doing quite well at home and we’re doing quite well in Europe. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind lately, but over the last year it’s all slowly, but surely, picked up. Hopefully after this tour in the U.S. we’ll be able to go back and do some more shows. But it’s been a fantastic start for us so far.

The new album has a lot of different influences, ranging from bluesy Black Crowes kind of sounds to harder rocking ’80s-inspired stuff. I’ve noticed a resurgence in the ’70s and ’80s rock sound in a lot of newer bands, as well as bands from that era seeing a renewed interest from fans. Why do you think that sound is making a comeback of sorts?

I think it’s just because we’ve all grown up with it. I mean, it’s something passed down from our dads and our mums because our parents were around in the ’80s and as we were growing up, that’s what they listened to. As we’ve grown up, we’ve listened to what they used to listen to. So when we come to writing music and started playing guitar and stuff like that, we’d go back to that kind of music to get inspiration because that’s what we knew. I think it’s a generational thing that was handed down to us.

You also released a digital-only EP of cover songs. How did you go about choosing which songs you’d cover?

We wanted to show that we don’t just have an ’80s side to us, but we’ve got a real kind of rootsy ’70s feel as well. We wanted to choose songs that people wouldn’t automatically think we’d go for and songs that might be a bit of a curveball, especially for people our age who might not have ever heard it before. Stuff like Canned Heat and ELO and stuff like that, people who are 18 back home in England don’t really know that kind of stuff. So we wanted to breathe some new life into some great songs and hopefully people will listen to that and go back to hear the originals.

How did you discover those bands if a lot of people your age haven’t heard them in England?

When we got into rock music, we all kind of sat down and went back to the roots. So if we liked Mötley Crüe or whatever, we’d go back and listen to what they were influenced by like UFO and Slade and stuff like that. We’re all massive music fans, so we’d sit down with records from the ’60s, ’70s and even the ’50s and ’40s, and listen to as much as possible.

This tour has you on the road through September. What are your plans after that?

After this tour, we go home and have a couple of weeks off to try and recoup some energy. After that we go on tour in the U.K. with Thin Lizzy, which we’re really excited about because we’re all massive Thin Lizzy fans. We’ve actually done a couple of dates with them before and they went really, really well. So a whole tour should be a lot of fun. Then we’re back in Europe through October. Then we’ll take some time off at the end of the year to see our families for Christmas and stuff.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes James Powers, Chris Damian and Eric Corvis

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Even though this week’s Georgia Wrestling Now was the first of the post-dany only era, we still felt the effects of the previous actions of “The Human Hand Grenade” when we heard from Beyond Wrestling‘s Eric Corvis. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Corvis is the man only inexplicably tried to stab following a recent Beyond Wrestling event. Having heard our send-off to only last week, Corvis requested some air time to discuss his dealings with our former co-host, and it turns out only was listening. And not happy with what he was hearing. As if that wasn’t explosive enough, we also heard from Dynasty Championship Wrestling Heritage Champion “The Mega-Star” James Powers about this weekend’s Wrestling for Miracles event. And we found out more about Pro Wrestling Resurrection (formerly The New Tradition Pro Wrestling) when TNT veteran Chris Damian called to talk about the promotion’s first show under the PWR banner. Wrestling with Pop Culture and Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins also discussed recent and upcoming events from Peachstate Wrestling Alliance, NWA Rampage Pro Wrestling, EMPIRE Wrestling, Platinum Championship Wrestling, NWA Anarchy and more. It all starts at 7 p.m. EST.

Beyond Wrestling's Eric Corvis has some things to say about former Georgia Wrestling Now co-host dany only on tonight's show

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Brooke Tessmacher looks to justify her championship at Hardcore Justice

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Women wrestlers have always struggled to get the same attention as their male counterparts. And many would argue that the focus on “divas” with backgrounds in modeling and dancing has only further diminished the legitimacy of women in the ring. But since the inception of its Knockouts Championship almost five years ago, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling has consistently featured some of wrestling’s top female wrestlers in competitive matches rather than pillow fights and lingerie matches. As a result, it was a surprise to many when Brooke Tessmacher, a former Hooters Swimsuit Pageant competitor who broke into the wrestling world as a valet and dancer, defeated Gail Kim, one of the most accomplished female wrestlers of our time, to become the new Knockouts Champion two months ago at Slammiversary. For those who thought this victory was a fluke, Tessmacher has retained the title with impressive victories over Mickie James and, most recently, Kim on Impact Wrestling. Having clearly come a long way since her days as a swimsuit model, Tessmacher takes on former champion Madison Rayne this Sunday at Hardcore Justice (hopefully, for Tessmacher’s sake, Rayne‘s new love interest Earl Hebner won’t be the referee). As she prepares for her next challenge, Tessmacher discusses her beginnings, how she has improved and how she hopes to continue as TNA’s top female competitor.

You’ve obviously come a long way since you started your wrestling career six years ago, with most of your success coming very recently. What do you attribute this recent success to?

It’s been a long road and I have been really giving it everything I had over the past few months. When I first came into TNA and Impact as a secretary, it really wasn’t fulfilling. It wasn’t utilizing my talents for what I wanted to do, so I knew that in order to make an impact I had to quit everything else I was doing. I gave up a Hooters pageant to start training, I gave up another pageant and two other modeling gigs because I realized wrestling was the most important thing in my life. It being the most difficult sport I’ve ever been involved in, and the biggest challenge, I did have to give up a lot of things to do that.

As everyone knows, Tara did help me tremendously in the ring and out of the ring. Also, Booker’s school with Paul Cook in Houston has helped me a lot with one-on-one training. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible. Being on the road with such talented knockouts as Mickie James, Gail Kim and Tara has allowed me to sit back and get a bird’s-eye view of how they perform, and that has really helped me step up my game. I’m constantly taking notes and to be there and see them yourself is the best way to climb up the ladder the quickest. I watched a lot of videos, a lot of tapes and spent a lot of man-hours. It’s been tough, but now I’m living my dream and it’s all paying off. It’s still very surreal to me.

How humbling or exciting is it to be the champion in one of the most stacked women’s divisions in wrestling?

I’ve had maybe 50, 60 matches now and for me to hold the championship and know that I’m the best at this time is very humbling. It’s a great feeling, it’s an exciting feeling, I wake up every day with the biggest smile on my face knowing I’m up there with these women and compared to these women like Mickie James, Tara and Gail Kim. I can only hope that I’ll have a career as long as them and that I’ll be able to hold this championship as long as them and, if I lose it, to get it back. I want to build my career just as they did. They’re amazing women and it’s crazy to be a part of it and compared to them.

With your improvement in the ring, do you think people are starting to take you more seriously as a wrestler as opposed to viewing you as a model in wrestling?

I do think they are taking me a little more seriously. I think I came in and really shocked people because I did improve a tremendous amount in a short period of time. And that was from all the work I put in. I think for a while I’l have to fight the stereotypical, “Oh, she’s just a model” thing. That’s fine. I’ll continue to keep improving and proving everyone wrong. But I think I’ve finally opened everyone’s eyes to say, “Oh, wow. This girl can work. She isn’t scared.” I’m a firecracker, so I can only go up.

How has your time in TNA compared to the work you did in WWE?

I look back and it’s a great company and it’s awesome to say I worked for them. But there really is hardly any comparison between the two when it comes to my career. I came out and did a sexy dance routine every week. It was fun, it was great, I made some good friends, but I’m an athlete and I wasn’t fulfilled doing a dance routine every week. Even though I wasn’t trained enough to have a full match, I would much rather have been training the whole time and getting ready for what I wanted to do rather than having to dance. At Impact Wrestling they’ve really believed in me and given me a chance. They opened the door for me and I just took and ran with it.

When you beat Gail Kim for the title, what was going through your mind before, during and after the match?

I remember sitting in the back before I walked out thinking, “OK, this is my one chance. I’m getting this right now. I have to be on my game now more than any other match.” And all of a sudden I just couldn’t breathe, the crowd was so loud and it just kind of took over me. I had been waiting for that moment for so long and I got so scared and freaked out. As soon as I entered the [ring], I just knew I wanted that championship more than anything. To win in your home state for the first time is indescribable. It was my moment to just take in everything that had just happened. My tears just started to flow as soon as I got backstage, it was just uncontrollable. I was just so happy and finally [realized], “Oh, my God. I did it! I did it! I cannot believe I did it! I just proved the whole wrestling world wrong.” No one took me seriously because I’m just a model, I’m inexperienced, especially getting in the ring with such a talented and tremendous athlete as Gail. It was a great feeling.

Do you feel more pressure now to retain the Knockouts Championship or was there more pressure for you trying to get to that level?

Of course there was a lot of pressure before because I was trying to prove everyone wrong about me being just a model that was trying to become an athlete, that I can do it, that I’m just as good and can hang in the ring. Now I do believe the pressure is a lot worse. Once you go up, all you can do is stay up and not fall down. So going out there every week to defend the championship is pretty difficult. With Gail Kim, Madison Rayne, Mickie James, it just takes one small mistake for it to be over, and that’s very difficult. When you’re as new as me, I still make rookie mistakes and I’m still learning. Thank God I have people like Tara and my trainers back at home to teach me these things because it only takes one wrong move to be done.

Since you won the championship, you’ve been on the road pretty much every weekend for TNA. How has working these house shows and live events helped you in terms of learning and growing as a performer in comparison to just doing TV in front of a live crowd?

My suggestion to everyone is to do as many live shows as you can because what they need the most is to get out there in front of people. It’s better to make mistakes when you’re not on live TV. You learn when you’re on the road, that’s how you get better and master your craft. When the title’s on the line, that’s not really the time to pull out new things and experiment. When you go on the road it gives you a chance to really master these things and try them out for the first time. It’s an awesome way to get out there and feel the crowd getting behind you. I love going on the road where people can see us who don’t normally get to see us. It’s awesome to get a new crowd out there and get new fans. So it’s great for experience, it’s great to help master your skills in the ring and it’s great to help calm you. I get so anxious, nervous, freaked out, excited and sweaty before I walk out and when you’re traveling on the road it teaches you to calm that, relax and really think about what matters and what you’re going to do in the ring and slow down.

Do you think it’s easier for women like yourself to make a career out of wrestling today or is it still an uphill battle as it has been in the past?

I don’t think it’s easier. When I got into the business, it was through the Diva Search. I don’t think they even have that anymore. I think it’s easier in the sense that women are getting looked at more, that we’re getting taken seriously. And we have Gut Check, which is an awesome way for people to come in and get recognized. But it’s still quite hard because you have to find your place to shine. We’re still proving ourselves every week, every month. It’s really just about putting yourself out there and finding where you can move forward.

As you’ve already mentioned, you got your start in wrestling through the Diva Search, then Extreme Exposé. You got your first big break in WWE around the same time that TNA introduced the Knockouts Championship. Even though you’ve defeated some of the top female talents to win and retain your title, you still have naysayers who only see you as a model and dancer. What more do you think you can do to win some of those people over and prove your worth as the Knockouts Champion?

It’s just me continuing what I’m doing at home, continuing the training, continuing watching these women every week and mastering what they’re doing and coming out there and doing my best. It will take time and I understand that. I understand that some people are like, “Oh, this is a joke. She doesn’t deserve it.” But in all reality, I do deserve to be where I am because I fought for this for a very long time. Some people don’t think I’m the best, but right now I am the best. I won fair and square. There was no cheating involved, there were no surprises and all I can do is come out each week and bring the fire that I bring and continue to win. And I will do that. I will not come out there and not bring everything I have each week. It’s going to take someone to kill me and lay me out before they take the championship from me. I will continue to prove everybody wrong each week, and I’m thrilled to do it. It gets me excited when I do hear that because I do want to prove everyone wrong. I’m a very competitive person by nature and you’re not going to be liked and believed in by everyone. One of my biggest priorities is to go out there and prove myself to everyone over time and prove that I do deserve it and can hang with these legends and be just as good.

We’ve seen former indie stars such as Austin Aries rise to the top of men’s wrestling in both TNA and WWE in recent months. Is there anyone in the indie scene that you’d like to see rise to the top in women’s wrestling?

I don’t really follow it too much, but I do follow the women that we have here and I’m very proud of the girls we have. Austin Aries is phenomenal and was kind of the underdog and look at him now. That’s a great story. I’m sure there are a lot of women out there and I would love to have them be part of our company and give everything that we give.

Many look at the feud between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong a few years ago as the pinnacle of contemporary women’s wrestling. Would you welcome a similarly hard-fought feud with someone like Kong?

I’ll never forget that. It was one of the best feuds in all of TNA’s history and in women’s wrestling in general. It’s something I don’t think anybody will ever forget and something you can never take away. I’ve watched tons of those videos to learn and grow myself.

She is killer, man. She’s strong, she’s tough and she is unlike anybody else we have right now. I’m up for any challenge and would never turn down any challenge. I know that would probably be one of the most difficult challenges I would have to face. I would definitely have to grow and get stronger and really learn her craft to be able to master it. I’d have to try and run circles around that girl because she is insanely powerful and I am very small. But I’d definitely welcome it, but I’m not saying it’s something that would be really exciting. It would be very scary for me because I am so new. But, yeah. I’d take her on.

When you are studying wrestling tapes to learn your craft, who do you find the most inspiration from? Is it just women wrestlers or do you find inspiration from men as well?

I watch both men and women. I watch a lot of Shawn Michaels and Trish Stratus. Trish came into the business as a model and was not taken seriously. To watch her grow and become one of the best female wrestlers today, hopefully I can be as great as that. Also, of course, Tara. I’ve watched a lot of her tapes and can only learn from the best. Mickie James, as well. But mostly Trish Stratus because we came in the same way. I can only hope my career can be as long and fulfilled as hers.

What’s your opinion of the direction TNA is heading and the role women’s wrestling might play in that development?

Now that we have one of the toughest and best [women’s] divisions out there – we’re shooting Impact live now, going to more countries – we’re only going to get better. As we have more time we’re just going to keep proving ourselves. I think we have made a huge impact in this company and in the wrestling world, and we’re only going to keep doing that.

For more information, go to www.impactwrestling.com.