A couple of days ago I got to interview one of independent wrestling’s finest athletes, Mike Quackenbush. He can wrestle any style, from Lucha Libre to traditional British Lancaster. In 2007, he won the Ted Petty Invitational, got invited to Japan and led his own wrestling company, CHIKARA, to one of its best years to date. In this interview we address…
– His semi-retirement in 2000.
– What’s next for Mike Quackenbush?
– Does he watch TNA or WWE?
– Comics
– Booking King of Trios 2008
– How was it being in the ring with Skayde on Night Three of King of Trios?
1 – There was a point back in 2000 where you decided to retire from wrestling. What led to that decision, and what led to coming out of retirement a number of months later?
Burn out, mostly. I was physically and mentally burned out on wrestling. My first real wave of popularity as an indy wrestler came in 1998 and 1999, and those were two hard traveling years for me. At the end of 1999, I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore, and I felt like the time was right for me to try something else. So, I started my own improv comedy show in my hometown (which ran for 13 weeks in the beginning of 2000), wrote, produced and acted in a direct-to-video superhero serial (which is downright dreadful), and started doing more writing. My last booking was in February, 2000. About a month or so later, I was already back wrestling again, baited by the opportunity to wrestle El Hijo del Santo. It was too late for me. I was already married to the mob.
2 – In 2007, you wrestled in Ring of Honor and won over a majority of the audience, put on one of CHIKARA’s best year of wrestling, and achieved your goal by wrestling in Japan. What’s next for Mike Quackenbush?
Hopefully I can keep the positive momentum going through 2008. Last year was a banner year for me, it will be hard to top.
3 – Do you pay any attention at all to TNA or WWE? Or are you mainly tuning in for Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble?
I probably see 5 minutes of RAW and 5 minutes of TNA per week. Flipping channels to get away from their boring dreck has actually made me into a fan of shows like CSI and Law & Order. It used to be that I’d flip and watch 5 minutes of Law & Order: SVU and then flip back for the other hour of TNA, or whatever. Now it’s the opposite. Maybe if the E hired legal drama writers instead of soap opera and sitcom writers, their show wouldn’t be so unwatchable.
4 – You are obviously a comic book enthusiast, if not because of your new Chikara Program, because of your Super-Hero Themed T-Shirts. Are there any comics that catch your interest?
For years, I’ve read JLA, some of the Batman books, Green Lantern, Flash. Back when 52 hit, I was reading a lot more DC, but I’m all “Crisis”-ed out now. On the Marvel side, I’ve kept up with Daredevil, Astonishing X-Men, and although it pains me to read their books these days, two of my favorites are Ghost Rider and Black Panther. The Avengers books, especially those with Bendis helming, are a lot of fun.
5 – Were there any matches that inspired you to become a wrestler, or was it the Puro and Lucha Libre style as a whole that inspired you?
I think a lot can be attributed to the earliest WCW meeting of Pillman and Jushin Liger. That match was extremely uncharacteristic of what was the norm in pro-wrestling at the time. Thank God someone put it on TV.
6 – Chikara holds the annual singles tournament highlighting the young talent from all over the world called “Young Lions Cup”. You’ve established the Tag Team Tournament with Tag World Grand Prix, and with 2008’s King of Trios, the biggest tournament of ever, it seems as if you have established the trios. Was booking King of Trios 2008 one of your biggest challenges of your career?
I would like to think that when CHIKARA inevitably folds, whether it’s 2 days or 2 years from now, that people will look back upon this tiny company and say “they really put on some monstrous tournaments.” Because if not even that can be said about us, there’s been a lot of sleepless nights and money spent for nothing. I think, ultimately, our impact on the independents may not be fully realized for some time, but you can’t dispute – no one puts on absurdly obese tournaments like we do.
7 – Are we going to see a King of Atomicos in 2009? (Atomicos is a team of four)
After King of Trios 2008, we’ve discovered it’s actually a lot less hassle to just take whatever money we have lying around and light it on fire.
8 – What emotions were running through your head when you and Jorge “Skayde” Rivera were celebrating in the ring together on Night Three of King of Trios?
It’s a rare thing to be able to do what you love, side by side with someone you respect and admire. How often can any of us say we got to do that? It was a wonderful moment.
9 – The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title has been defended by you in many matches throughout America. What’s holding you back from defending the belt in Japan? If you could defend the belt in Japan against ANYONE, who would it be?
Hopefully a defense in Japan is forthcoming. I go where the NWA sends me. If they send me to New Japan, or Zero One Max, or even Kageki Pro and tell me that’s where I’m to defend the belt, I’ll be there. I’d love to have the singles match with Milano Collection A.T. that we never got to do a few years ago.
10 – Thank you very much for giving Pulse Wrestling your time to do this interview. Is there anything you would like to plug or say to your fans?
Please check out the free, weekly podcast known as “CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go,” for your Monday night wrestling fix. You can find it via iTunes or on YouTube. Come visit chikarapro.com where you can keep up with everything I do, and in our online store, you can even pick up copies of my books, like Headquarters and Secret Identity.
Chikara’s Official (USA) Store
Chikara’s Official (International) Store
