Post by CW .org .info .net on Dec 8, 2022 10:28:49 GMT -6
Jimmy Stronz Interview - May 2001
Jimmy Strons admits he lucked into his two-year ride in the WWF.
Strons was 21 years old and self-trained when state of Illinois official John Spahn spotted him at a Lunatic Wrestling Federation independent wrestling show in the south suburbs.
With Illinois one of three states that required state officials present at professional wrestling events, those officials were allowed to designate one referee for any event. Spahn asked Strons if he would be interested in being that referee at the next WWF event.
Strons was working his second event as a professional.
Everything happened for me really fast, Strons said. I had just turned 21 and had done one professional show. Then here I was at the Rosemont Horizon in a WWF ring.
Strons, now 25 and a student at Northern Illinois University, spent two years working for the WWF at shows in Illinois and Wisconsin. He has become one of the top referees in Illinois and still works for the LWF and also Midwest Championship Wrestling, where he will be Saturday at the MCWs first-ever TV taping in Chicago Ridge.
He no longer works for the WWF.
Its a complicated story, Strons said without revealing details. I did something I was supposed to do, but I really dont think I did anything wrong.
He didnt work for the WWF on that first day - a WWF Raw show in Rosemont.
I just hung around and watched the show, he said.
But Strons made a good impression with WWF officials and by February 1998, he was called on to work at a house show in Springfield.
My very first match was Kama vs. Savio Vega, Strons said. It was the very first match of the card. I still remember it. At one point, Kama had Savio Vega in a chokehold and he was really choking him. I was still very green and I didnt know that. Savio was literally pulling at my jersey because I wasnt asking him if he was OK. But it was my very first match.
Later in the card, he became the victim of a WWF practical joke.
There was a match, Kane vs. Chainz, Strons said. You know how Kane would bring up the lights (and explosives) when he dropped his arm. Well, I was being worked. The guys were saying when Kane drops his arms, you have to run through the ropes and back up the ramp, because youre afraid. But nobody told Jack Lanza, who was the road agent there. So Kane comes in, he reaches out his arms and Im running through the ropes, up the ramp and Jack Lanza greeted me and said, What are you doing? Get back in the ring. He was furious, because none of the guys told him what they told me. They told him later.
Strons spent a week touring with the WWF when head referee Earl Hebner injured himself.
He was trimming a branch in a tree and he fell out of the tree, Strons said. They asked me to come along with them. That week was absolutely crazy.
Strons traveled to Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Rockford. During the tour, he made his first appearance on Raw.
It was Kaientai vs. Luna and the ICP freaks (the Oddities) and it was pretty crazy, Strons said.
He said he was asked to go to North Carolina, but already had missed a week of school and could not afford to miss any more time.
His experience taught him the WWF isnt as bizarre as those who read about it on the Internet are led to believe. He said backstage is fairly calm.
The guys show up, they get dressed, they talk, Strons said. Theyre normal people. Youre sitting there and Mankind is on the phone with his credit card. The guys are just playing cards and theyre joking around. Its just like work, you have a boss who tells you what to do. Its a normal job, but its on TV.
He said many would have you believe WWF stars feud constantly behind the scenes, but he said most wrestlers get along nicely.
Its quiet, its calm, Strons said. They throw ideas back and forth. There isnt much anger.
Ive only seen a wrestler get angry once.
He said the upset wrestlers were angry over an ad-libbed spot in a tag match.
It was their match to go over and one of the other wrestlers stole their heat, Strons said. He added a spot that wasnt supposed to be there. He went over, but it wasnt his turn. I wont name names.
He said he nearly was able to work Owen Harts final match as Strons was in Rosemont with the WWF the night before Harts death in Kansas City, Mo.
I watched a hockey game with Owen Hart the night before he died, Strons said.
He worked a lot of dark matches when the Hardys, Edge and Kurt Angle were working them.
The Hardy Boyz and I came in together, Strons said. They did dark matches and didnt actually have a gimmick. I did a bunch of their matches when they did dark matches. Edge did dark matches. I actually did two of Kurt Angles matches before he had a gimmick.
He says he isnt happy about the way his stint ended, but he understands he was fortunate to even get the chance. He said many have worked a lifetime for such an opportunity.
Its probably the biggest slap in the face if you think about it, he said. Some referees have been working for 10 years and they can only dream of being in a WWF show. I did two shows and it was like, here you go. There are guys in this business their whole life just to be in the WWF ring, to be on live TV. Here I am, self-trained and 21 years old and Im in the Horizon. The first night, I got paid $300 and I didnt do a thing. I felt like I should have been paying them.
Its the most funny thing in the world. Its really screwed up.
He said he just happened to fit what the WWF was looking for.
I have the perfect stature to be a referee, Strons said. I have a clean-cut look. Im not very big and Im an outgoing person. That makes me marketable as a referee. If youre above 5-foot-10, youre not going to be very marketable as a referee. They like smaller referees. That helps make the wrestlers look bigger. You put a 5-10 guy in with guys like Jayson Reign and Double M, the referee is going to be the biggest guy in the ring. In the WWF, I was the tallest one, and Im 5-7. Jack Doan is 5-5 and Earl Hebner is 5-6.
Strons said he was amazed to watch the LWF grow from the backyard.
I just happened to come in at the right time, he said. They were doing it for two or three years and I never thought it would get as big as it did. When we first started in Lemont, we were drawing 600 people. Thats at $10 a head and thats pretty crazy. We only had one guy trained and he wasnt a major wrestler at the time.
He said he never would discredit the LWF because of where they began and said others who began in LWF should stop criticizing the place
The backyard is probably the best thing that ever happened to me, the best thing that happened to a lot of wrestlers, Strons said. (Former LWF wrestler) CM Punk always rips on yarders, but he was the biggest backyard wrestler ever. He was all backyard, all the time. It took another guy to get trained for him to get trained. He was a yarder when he was doing LWF stuff. When I hear him talk about yarder, yarder, hes the biggest hypocrite ever.
That is not to say Strons doesnt respect Punk.
Hes a good wrestler and he was a best friend of mine, but he burned so many bridges, Strons said. I hope Id never have to work with him again.
But if the situation arose...
If he did an MCW show, yeah, I would do his match, Strons said. Id be as professional as I could be. We wouldnt go out to dinner. I just think its funny when he calls people yarders. He forgets, hes a yarder, too. Im not embarrased. I started in the backyard. Who cares?
Strons said many remain with the LWF out of personal enjoyment.
Its a fun time, he said. You know everybody. Double M has accomplished everything he can, but he still does it. I know Jay Jensen left, but its just because he wanted to get away and spread his wings. He just didnt want to be involved anymore.
He says the LWF is becoming more organized. He said he respects MCWs professionalism.
I show up there, and I get with the wrestlers and talk about what has to be talked about, Strons said. I do my thing. I get paid. I go home. Its a well-run organization. Its well thought out, well presented. The wrestlers come to wrestle and the referees referee. Its everything you enjoy about the wrestling business. Let the wrestlers concentrate on wrestling and the referees concentrate on refereeing and youll have a happy locker room.
Strons had a memorable exchange with former ECW star Simon Diamond in a comedy spot in MCW. Strons was able to execute a few moves on the wrestler.
If I didnt get a chance to touch a wrestler, if I never put my hands on a wrestler, thats fine, Strons said. It made me look good, but thats not the object of the game. The object is to put the wrestler over and make sure they get their spots, let the wrestlers know how the crowd is reacting. I can make things look more dramatic than they really have to be. There are three people in the ring two who get the excitement and one who helps them.
In MCW, guys like Double M, Jay Jensen, Jayson Reign and Airborne can have all the glory. They deserve it. The fans dont pay to see me, they pay to see them. Its my job to make them look good.