Post by Arturo Classico on Apr 25, 2007 11:04:02 GMT -5
With the recent demise of Deep South Wrestling, preceded by the firing of Bill DeMott as head trainer, it seems that now is a great time for people to come forth and air their dirty laundry- especially about the treatment they received while training with Bill. I found a recent blog posted by Kevin Matthews to be pretty unsettling, and not just due to his kindergarden-esque name calling (Billiam, Mr. Neck fat, etc). I was actually more disturbed by his blatant misrepresentation of what occurred in DSW. While I have no interest in getting into some sort of internet pissing contest (Kevin has more free time on his hands, and therefore he wins), I do feel that any ‘smart fan’ who reads this site should know what actually occurred in that building in Mcdonough, GA.
First, I would like to address the facts regarding the schedule & training. Practice was held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. Kevin was correct in saying that the DSW roster was split into two groups and assigned to either Bill or Dave Taylor’s class. The assignments rotated, so that you were in either one class or the other about 50% of the time. Bill’s class began at 12pm and usually lasted no more that four hours. The first 30 minutes of class consisted of light stretching, a ¾ mile jog, 500 hindu squats, 100 push ups & 100 crunches (4 sets of 25, alternating). The remaining 3 ½ hours of class consisted of drills, which were admittedly very tough, from a cardio vascular standpoint (I used to throw up a lot). On any given day, there were about 10 wrestlers who were participating (not injured). Since you could only have 2 men in the ring at any given time, that means that you & a partner were in the ring about 20% of the time- about 42 minutes (and 168 minutes of down time watching others drill, drinking water, throwing up, etc). Add that 42 minutes to the 30 minutes of warm ups, and you were working out for a total of 72 minutes, 4 days a week. Kevin, with a physique that more closely resembles John McCain’s than John Cena’s, I would have thought you would welcome the extra cardio with open arms!
I recently re-read Ric Flair’s biography “To Be The Man”, and I would like to compare the training Flair underwent with Verne Gagne to “Bills Kill Drill Class” (Kevin’s words, not mine- does that even make any sense?). Flair states “We had to do 500 free squats, 200 push ups, and 200 sit ups. I’d never trained so hard in my life.” Ken Patera, commenting in the same book, said “We were doing neck bridges, calisthenics, jumping jacks, everything. Then we went to works out in the ring, which was inside on of Verne’s horse barns… it was below freezing temperatures.” Flair also describes how shooter Billy Robinson would regularly stretch people. By comparison, Bill’s training, held inside an air conditioned facility with a nice WWE ring, seemed like a vacation. And another big difference: we were getting PAID to train!
Kevin also takes an opportunity to rip on Bill’s credentials as a trainer: “god knows he doesn't have a clue about how to work”. I could respond, but why bother: Bill has had a successful career in Puerto Rico, Japan, WCW, and WWE, where he was a wrestler, commentator, and trainer on Tough Enough III.
Kevin goes on to grind his ax with a few others in DSW- again, I won’t even touch those subjects. ‘He said- she said’ high school drama was something I tried to avoid at all costs. When we went out at nights, I tried to ensure that everyone was invited, everyone had a drink in their hand, and everyone had a good time- regardless of what petty differences arose during practice.
I’m not sure why Kevin is so sour on his DSW experience. My experience in DSW was great from beginning to end- sure, there were some grueling practices, but I’m a better man for having gone through them. And what’s more: it was my job! I may be accused of being in Bill’s ‘clique’, but that never afforded me any privileges: I never skipped practice, never sat out on drills, and never got injured! It seemed clear to me, from my observations at the time, and from reading his latest rant, that Kevin had a poor attitude upon arriving in Deep South, never had the physical and mental tools to succeed in Deep South, and now trying to cope with these shortcomings by blaming Bill DeMott.
I’m sure that this letter will provoke some type of insult ridden response (I’m a vagina, I quit the WWE because I couldn’t hack it in Europe, etc.) That’s okay- I am a lot less worried about my own reputation than that of a man who helped a lot of us down in DSW.
Why did Deep South Wrestling close it’s doors? The answer lies within the halls of a big building in Stamford, CT. That’s a whole other topic, for a whole other day.
Thanks,
Brian Mailhot
‘Palmer Canon’
-gerweck.net
Intreasting read and Palmer knows how things were down in DSW with being down there so much and cool he blasts on WWE for this which I feel is the part at blame.
First, I would like to address the facts regarding the schedule & training. Practice was held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. Kevin was correct in saying that the DSW roster was split into two groups and assigned to either Bill or Dave Taylor’s class. The assignments rotated, so that you were in either one class or the other about 50% of the time. Bill’s class began at 12pm and usually lasted no more that four hours. The first 30 minutes of class consisted of light stretching, a ¾ mile jog, 500 hindu squats, 100 push ups & 100 crunches (4 sets of 25, alternating). The remaining 3 ½ hours of class consisted of drills, which were admittedly very tough, from a cardio vascular standpoint (I used to throw up a lot). On any given day, there were about 10 wrestlers who were participating (not injured). Since you could only have 2 men in the ring at any given time, that means that you & a partner were in the ring about 20% of the time- about 42 minutes (and 168 minutes of down time watching others drill, drinking water, throwing up, etc). Add that 42 minutes to the 30 minutes of warm ups, and you were working out for a total of 72 minutes, 4 days a week. Kevin, with a physique that more closely resembles John McCain’s than John Cena’s, I would have thought you would welcome the extra cardio with open arms!
I recently re-read Ric Flair’s biography “To Be The Man”, and I would like to compare the training Flair underwent with Verne Gagne to “Bills Kill Drill Class” (Kevin’s words, not mine- does that even make any sense?). Flair states “We had to do 500 free squats, 200 push ups, and 200 sit ups. I’d never trained so hard in my life.” Ken Patera, commenting in the same book, said “We were doing neck bridges, calisthenics, jumping jacks, everything. Then we went to works out in the ring, which was inside on of Verne’s horse barns… it was below freezing temperatures.” Flair also describes how shooter Billy Robinson would regularly stretch people. By comparison, Bill’s training, held inside an air conditioned facility with a nice WWE ring, seemed like a vacation. And another big difference: we were getting PAID to train!
Kevin also takes an opportunity to rip on Bill’s credentials as a trainer: “god knows he doesn't have a clue about how to work”. I could respond, but why bother: Bill has had a successful career in Puerto Rico, Japan, WCW, and WWE, where he was a wrestler, commentator, and trainer on Tough Enough III.
Kevin goes on to grind his ax with a few others in DSW- again, I won’t even touch those subjects. ‘He said- she said’ high school drama was something I tried to avoid at all costs. When we went out at nights, I tried to ensure that everyone was invited, everyone had a drink in their hand, and everyone had a good time- regardless of what petty differences arose during practice.
I’m not sure why Kevin is so sour on his DSW experience. My experience in DSW was great from beginning to end- sure, there were some grueling practices, but I’m a better man for having gone through them. And what’s more: it was my job! I may be accused of being in Bill’s ‘clique’, but that never afforded me any privileges: I never skipped practice, never sat out on drills, and never got injured! It seemed clear to me, from my observations at the time, and from reading his latest rant, that Kevin had a poor attitude upon arriving in Deep South, never had the physical and mental tools to succeed in Deep South, and now trying to cope with these shortcomings by blaming Bill DeMott.
I’m sure that this letter will provoke some type of insult ridden response (I’m a vagina, I quit the WWE because I couldn’t hack it in Europe, etc.) That’s okay- I am a lot less worried about my own reputation than that of a man who helped a lot of us down in DSW.
Why did Deep South Wrestling close it’s doors? The answer lies within the halls of a big building in Stamford, CT. That’s a whole other topic, for a whole other day.
Thanks,
Brian Mailhot
‘Palmer Canon’
-gerweck.net
Intreasting read and Palmer knows how things were down in DSW with being down there so much and cool he blasts on WWE for this which I feel is the part at blame.
helped $lim jinx NXT. Woops
